Cheaper By The Dozen
by Rac4hel414
Summary: Gabriella moves to Albuquerque with her large family. She meets Troy Bolton, a bad boy by all accounts, but a bad boy with a past. He finally starts to open up to her, but can she juggle her familial responsibilities and her feelings for Troy?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know what you're thinking: is she _ever_ going to finish a story again? I DON'T KNOW. Sigh. But I've thought up this and I actually have a plan (shock horror!) I only have a few more things to iron out. So here's a little preview for you :)**

* * *

Chapter One

"Hi, I'm Gabriella Montez. It's our first day," I said, gesturing vaguely to my brothers crowding the small waiting area.

The receptionist looked over her glasses at us all. "Did you say Montez?"

I nodded, absentmindedly twirling my dark hair around my finger. "Yep."

She opened a drawer in a cabinet. "Your father called. Just bear with me."

While she was busy rummaging through folders and papers, I turned around, gazing out at the main corridor. East High School is so much bigger than Sun High: more students, more school spirit, and more ways I would lose track of my brothers.

I glanced at each of them in turn. I trusted them all and knew that they were all more than capable of taking care of themselves. Noah could fight Dwayne Johnson and come out with a scratch on his pinkie at most, both Nate and Tommy had black belts in jiu jitsu, and Alex. Well, Alex had received more than his fair share of warnings from his soccer coach for his overly excitable tackles. But we'd only ever known one thing: Midland, Indiana. And Albuquerque, New Mexico was the furthest thing from that small town. The Montezs were many things, but we were not made for the city.

I looked up at Noah leaning against the wall next to the reception desk, clearly checking out a cheerleader who was pinning something to a noticeboard. I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow," he grumbled, not moving his eyes away from the short skirt.

"Can you wait five minutes before you check out every cheerleader in a ten mile radius?" I mumbled, bringing my cell phone from my jeans pocket.

"Can you go five minutes without checking your precious cell phone?" he retorted, finally turning away from the cheerleader. "I'm guessing you haven't heard from the Lawbreaker?"

I didn't acknowledge the jab at my boyfriend and slid my phone back into my pocket. "I probably won't hear anything until after school. You know that he doesn't wake up until he absolutely has to."

"His track record of missing homeroom speaks for itself," Noah muttered and turned to gaze at a pretty blonde dressed head to toe in pink and rhinestones. Not his usual type, I noted. But a bigger school population meant more girls. The novelty would wear off soon enough.

Someone nudged me away from the reception desk and I stumbled. Noah caught my arm to steady my balance.

"You okay, Gabi?"

I nodded, tugging my arm from my brother's grasp. I frowned at the boy who stood in my spot, clad in black jeans, a white tee, and a leather jacket. He rested his elbows on the desk, bowing his head.

"Excuse you," I said sarcastically.

He glanced at me. "Excuse me," he offered just as sarcastically before turning away again.

A different receptionist emerged from the principal's office and sighed when she saw the boy standing there. "Mr Bolton, I'm surprised Principal Matsui hasn't asked us to add our little meetings into your class schedule."

He handed over a pink slip of paper. "I just can't stay away from you, Mrs Johnson. Ms Darbus told me to give this to you."

She regarded the slip in front of her with disdain. "I hope you haven't been disturbing our new students."

He looked at me and then up at Noah. He rolled his eyes back to Mrs Johnson. "I'm deeply offended. Why would you think I would disturb anybody?"

Without another word, he turned around and stalked into the main hall. I released a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding.

"He just seems like a big ol' cup of sunshine," Noah muttered.

The first receptionist emerged from a side door with an armful of files. "Here we go. I have Noah, Gabriella, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Alexander," she mumbled, handing the files to each of us in turn. She glanced unsurely between us all, evidently noticing the differences in our appearances, but she was civil enough not to say anything.

"There's a campus map, list of extracurricular activities, contacts for members of staff, and your class schedules in your packs. Do you have any questions?" she asked with a look of dread, probably thinking we were going to launch into an interrogation about quantum mechanics.

I glanced at my brothers who were shuffling through their papers. "I guess not. Thank you."

I stepped closer to Nate, Tommy, and Alex and consulted my class schedule. "Noah, what do you have last period?"

"Gabi," Nate muttered.

I glanced at him and he pointed over my shoulder. I looked behind me to see my beloved older brother talking to a cheerleader, his charm already kicked into fifth gear.

"Noah," I hissed, gaining his attention. I gestured for him to join us and he reluctantly ended the conversation.

"You do know that I'm the oldest," he bragged, flicking my ear.

"Then act like it," I snapped. "What do you have last period?"

He fumbled with his papers. "English."

"I have math," Alex muttered.

"We have gym," Nate and Tommy said in unison.

"And I have drama. Final bell at 3:30pm. Everyone remembers where the car is?"

"Gabi, calm down," Alex told me as he got to his feet and grabbed his guitar case. "It's just school."

 _No_ , I thought as I watched him enter the main hall, being swallowed by the rest of the school. _It's our first day at a school in a city where we don't know anybody_.

I watched my other brothers grab their musical instruments and follow Alex into the throng of students. I heard the warning bell for homeroom and grabbed my violin case. As I left the reception area, I saw the guy in leather, Bolton apparently, leaning against the nearest row of lockers. He stared right back at me and the intensity of his gaze made me look away.

I took a deep breath and pushed myself into the crowd. If my fourteen year old brother could be blasé about this, so could I.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

"Hi, I'm Gabriella Montez. It's our first day," I said, gesturing vaguely to my brothers crowding the small waiting area.

The receptionist looked over her glasses at us all. "Did you say Montez?"

I nodded, absentmindedly twirling my dark hair around my finger. "Yep."

She opened a drawer in a cabinet. "Your father called. Just bear with me."

While she was busy rummaging through folders and papers, I turned around, gazing out at the main corridor. East High School is so much bigger than Sun High: more students, more school spirit, and more ways I would lose track of my brothers.

I glanced at each of them in turn. I trusted them all and knew that they were all more than capable of taking care of themselves. Noah could fight Dwayne Johnson and come out with a scratch on his pinkie at most, both Nate and Tommy had black belts in jiu jitsu, and Alex. Well, Alex had received more than his fair share of warnings from his soccer coach for his overly excitable tackles. But we'd only ever known one thing: Midland, Indiana. And Albuquerque, New Mexico was the furthest thing from that small town. The Montezs were many things, but we were not made for the city.

I looked up at Noah leaning against the wall next to the reception desk, clearly checking out a cheerleader who was pinning something to a noticeboard. I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow," he grumbled, not moving his eyes away from the short skirt.

"Can you wait five minutes before you check out every cheerleader in a ten mile radius?" I mumbled, bringing my cell phone from my jeans pocket.

"Can you go five minutes without checking your precious cell phone?" he retorted, finally turning away from the cheerleader. "I'm guessing you haven't heard from the Lawbreaker?"

I didn't acknowledge the jab at my boyfriend and slid my phone back into my pocket. "I probably won't hear anything until after school. You know that he doesn't wake up until he absolutely has to."

"His track record of missing homeroom speaks for itself," Noah muttered and turned to gaze at a pretty blonde dressed head to toe in pink and rhinestones. Not his usual type, I noted. But a bigger school population meant more girls. The novelty would wear off soon enough.

Someone nudged me away from the reception desk and I stumbled. Noah caught my arm to steady my balance.

"You okay, Gabi?"

I nodded, tugging my arm from my brother's grasp. I frowned at the boy who stood in my spot, clad in black jeans, a white tee, and a leather jacket. He rested his elbows on the desk, bowing his head.

"Excuse you," I said sarcastically.

He glanced at me. "Excuse me," he offered just as sarcastically before turning away again.

A different receptionist emerged from the principal's office and sighed when she saw the boy standing there. "Mr Bolton, I'm surprised Principal Matsui hasn't asked us to add our little meetings into your class schedule."

He handed over a pink slip of paper. "I just can't stay away from you, Mrs Johnson. Ms Darbus told me to give this to you."

She regarded the slip in front of her with disdain. "I hope you haven't been disturbing our new students."

He looked at me and then up at Noah. He rolled his eyes back to Mrs Johnson. "I'm deeply offended. Why would you think I would disturb anybody?"

Without another word, he turned around and stalked into the main hall. I released a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding.

"He just seems like a big ol' cup of sunshine," Noah muttered.

The first receptionist emerged from a side door with an armful of files. "Here we go. I have Noah, Gabriella, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Alexander," she mumbled, handing the files to each of us in turn. She glanced unsurely between us all, evidently noticing the differences in our appearances, but she was civil enough not to say anything.

"There's a campus map, list of extracurricular activities, contacts for members of staff, and your class schedules in your packs. Do you have any questions?" she asked with a look of dread, probably thinking we were going to launch into an interrogation about quantum mechanics.

I glanced at my brothers who were shuffling through their papers. "I guess not. Thank you."

I stepped closer to Nate, Tommy, and Alex and consulted my class schedule. "Noah, what do you have last period?"

"Gabi," Nate muttered.

I glanced at him and he pointed over my shoulder. I looked behind me to see my beloved older brother talking to a cheerleader, his charm already kicked into fifth gear.

"Noah," I hissed, gaining his attention. I gestured for him to join us and he reluctantly ended the conversation.

"You do know that I'm the oldest," he bragged, flicking my ear.

"Then act like it," I snapped. "What do you have last period?"

He fumbled with his papers. "English."

"I have math," Alex muttered.

"We have gym," Nate and Tommy said in unison.

"And I have drama. Final bell at 3:30pm. Everyone remembers where the car is?"

"Gabi, calm down," Alex told me as he got to his feet and grabbed his guitar case. "It's just school."

 _No_ , I thought as I watched him enter the main hall, being swallowed by the rest of the school. _It's our first day at a school in a city where we don't know anybody_.

I watched my other brothers grab their musical instruments and follow Alex into the throng of students. I heard the warning bell for homeroom and grabbed my violin case. As I left the reception area, I saw the guy in leather, Bolton apparently, leaning against the nearest row of lockers. He stared right back at me and the intensity of his gaze made me look away.

I took a deep breath and pushed myself into the crowd. If my fourteen year old brother could be blasé about this, so could I.

* * *

When I sat down in third period AP math class, I was already exhausted. Each class brought a new teacher, a new student assigned to help me catch up, and a new club or society. I had never been great at remembering names and I was struggling to keep up.

By the time you reached high school in Midland, you'd grown up with all of your peers and if you had older siblings, the teachers already knew you. New kids were a rarity and so getting to know new people was never a necessity. You found your friends and stuck with them.

I glanced at my watch. Justin would be getting to English, our only shared class. I wondered if he was as lost without me as I felt without him. Two seventeen year olds trying a long distance relationship after being together for six months was a big ask and I knew that the odds were against us. But I wanted to try anyway.

I understood why hauling everybody to the other side of the country was the best thing for our family, but it didn't make it any easier.

"Gabriella, right?"

I looked over to find a pretty black girl sat at the desk next to mine. She seemed familiar. Maybe she was in homeroom or chemistry.

"Taylor."

"Gabriella." I shook her hand.

"I thought you were brilliant in chemistry this morning," she said, her enthusiasm a bit contagious.

I twirled some hair around my finger and blushed, averting my gaze. "Thanks."

"Do you have any experience competing in a scholastic decathlon?"

I looked over at the door as it was slammed open. To my surprise, Bolton stalked in and took a seat in the front row. I stared momentarily at the back of his head, not quite believing he took AP classes. I assumed that he would be failing, taking remedial math and English.

I tore my eyes away and looked back to Taylor. "Um, yeah. I competed at my old school."

"Brillant. We meet almost everyday after school." She grinned as if I had agreed to do it.

For some reason, my gaze was drawn back to Bolton.

A year ago, I lived and breathed for the scholastic decathlon. I was the co-captain alongside Noah, planning our meetings, helping others study and research. The adrenaline of each event was addictive, spurred on by my competitiveness. I wanted to feel that way again.

Yet, I thought of my brothers and sisters, my mother, my weekend waitressing job. And suddenly the scholastic decathlon was no longer important.

I shook my head, not moving my gaze from Bolton's head. "I can't."

Before Taylor could question me, the teacher stood to begin the class. Mr Miller introduced me and Bolton twisted in his seat to look at me.

Before I could even smile, he had already turned back around.

Taylor invited me to sit at her lunch table and introduced me to her group of friends which included the pretty blonde Noah checked out earlier. It was kind of a ragtag group of misfits: jocks, drama enthusiasts, musicians, and geeks.

The blonde slid closer to me and grinned. "Sharpay Evans, president of the drama club. Do you have any acting or singing experience?"

I almost mentioned my violin but decided against it. "No, sorry."

She frowned and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Oh. Our spring musical is _West Side Story_ and I thought you'd be perfect for the part of Maria."

"Sharpay!" Taylor hissed. "At least wait until the poor girl has been here a day."

"Like you're any better. How long did it take her to mention the scholastic decathlon?" she asked.

I glanced between the two friends. "She asked me about it third period."

She rolled her eyes. "I think that's a new record."

They started an energetic debate about the arts and the sciences and I took the opportunity to look around the cafeteria for any of my brothers.

"Tay, Tay, Tay!"

An African-American boy sat down next to Taylor and kissed her.

"Hi," he mumbled vaguely in my direction before focussing on Taylor again. "Tay, Derrick from the baseball team met the coolest guy in his social studies class. He's just moved here and he was captain of the wrestling team and he's hella smart. Well, not as smart as you."

Taylor wiped her mouth with a napkin. "And where is your new best friend, Chad?"

Chad looked frantically around the cafeteria and finally raised his hand, beckoning someone over. I didn't even have to look over to know who it was. The table shifted slightly as Noah's 6ft, 200lb frame sank down onto a seat opposite me.

I smiled and opened my mouth but Chad had already started talking again.

"This is Noah. Noah, this is Jason, Kelsi, Zeke, Ryan, Sharpay, Taylor, and…" He trailed off when his eyes landed on me.

"Gabi," Noah supplied, unloading his brown paper bag of two foot long sandwiches, an apple, an orange, several bags of chips, five candy bars, and a bottle of orange juice.

"Hi Noah," I murmured, trying to ignore everyone's confused glances. "Have you seen Nate or Tommy? What about Alex?"

"Well I bumped into Nate in the bathroom and he was raving about his physics class. And, uh, I don't think Alex is having too bad a time." He quirked an eyebrow, looking over my shoulder.

I twisted in my seat and see my baby brother sat at a small table in the corner with a girl. An actual girl. As in not-a-fictional-character-girl. I turned back to Noah and laughed. "I think that's the first time he's ever looked a girl in the eye."

"Wait," Chad interrupted. "You two know each other?"

"I hope so," Noah mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich, "considering she's my sister."

Everyone's gaze landed on me and I shifted uncomfortably.

"Um," Jason began, glancing between me, the Latina, and Noah, the African-American, "are you sure?"

Kelsi elbowed him and shook her head.

"The adoption papers say we are," I said quietly, looking down at my salad.

Everybody fell quiet as if I had just told them I had a fatal disease.

"It's okay," Noah said, breaking the awkward silence. "It means that her parents chose me but are stuck with her."

I rolled my eyes and threw a few cherry tomatoes at him. "And they've regretted that decision ever since."

Our sibling banter let everybody else relax. Once we had acknowledge the elephant in the room, normal conversation could resume. Noah caught my eye and grinned.

It wasn't exactly Sun High, but at least I didn't have to go at this alone.

* * *

At free period, I found myself under a gazebo somewhere on the roof of the school, surrounded by countless plants and flowers. For all my reservations about moving to Albuquerque, the view from up there was breathtaking.

I pressed my violin under my chin and slowly pulled the bow across the strings. My movements were slow and deliberate, testing the sound of each note. And then my fingers took on a life of their own, my left hand pressing on the strings, my right hand clutching the bow as if it was an extension of my body.

My music book was beside me on the wooden bench and I lost myself in the notes, the treble clefs, and the quavers. It's weird. Out of all the languages I grew up learning, it was music that I thought of as my mother tongue.

I'd always loved playing music outside: my fingers have turned blue from snow and my shoulders have been burnt by the sun. I breathed in the fresh air, my violin drowned out the traffic, and my worries fell away as if I was a reptile shedding it's skin.

"You do know that you're driving everyone crazy."

I jumped at the voice and pulled my bow clumsily across the strings. I cringed at the harsh twang and looked up to see Bolton stood at the top of the stairs.

"Why?"

He sat next to me and rummaged through his backpack. "Everyone wants to know where the music is coming from."

"Oh. Well now you know," I mumbled and put my violin back in its case.

He gestured to the battered case. "Don't stop on my account."

I shrugged. "I'd feel weird practicing while you just watch me."

He pulled out a pencil and a book almost identical to mine. "Okay." He paused and met my gaze. "How did you find this place? It took me a year and a half."

I looked around at the flowers and plants. "I got lost. I was looking for the music room."

"Other side of campus. Be grateful you missed it. The acoustics are terrible, Gabriella," he said, looking intently at his book.

He tucked his pencil between his teeth and gnawed on the end of it as if it was a piece of gum.

"You know my name," I whispered slowly.

"How could I not? You've literally been everywhere today. The front desk, math, and I saw you playing best friends with Danforth and McKessie," he said quietly.

I swallowed, thinking back to lunch, trying to place him somewhere in the crowded cafeteria.

"What's wrong with Chad and Taylor?"

He was silent except for the persistent biting of his pencil. Every so often, he paused to write something down and then resumed the gnawing.

I tried a different avenue.

"Do you have a first name or does everyone call you Bolton?"

He met my eye and tucked the pencil behind his ear. He sighed as if my mere presence was a big inconvenience.

"It depends who you ask. Most teachers call me Bolton by default now." He frowned and averted his gaze. "But you can call me Troy if you want."


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N: Enjoy**

* * *

Chapter Two

Troy kicked the stand down on his motorcycle and sat there for a moment, staring up at the house looming in front of him. The front yard was littered with bikes and skateboards and footballs.

He had a feeling deep in his gut that he was going to regret this. And yet, he knew he couldn't wait until the following day to do this.

He dismounted his Yamaha Raven and took his helmet off, leaving it on the seat. He adjusted his backpack and headed up the path to the front door. He sidestepped a doll, tripped over a roller skate, and kicked a hockey stick off the path on his way to the door. His own front yard was neatly mowed with trimmed potted plants and not a toy in sight. His mother would have a stroke if she saw this.

He glanced back at the SOLD sign still standing near the sidewalk. It had to be here.

Before he could change his mind, he pressed the doorbell.

A moment later, it swung open and Troy looked down to see a six or seven year old boy with a small dark afro.

His coffee coloured face paled in horror. "Stranger danger!" he yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Troy.

Troy looked over the kid's shoulder, trying to see an adult, or at least a teenager, but it looked as if he was alone. So, with a sigh, he dropped to one knee to look the boy in the eye.

"Hey, hey, little man. It's okay. I'm a friend of your sister's," Troy said, trying to console the boy.

The boy narrowed his brown eyes, clearly suspicious of Troy's presence. "Which one?"

It occurred to Troy that he didn't actually know if Gabriella was his sister. But she had said that the big black dude was her brother, so it was entirely plausible that this little kid was another brother.

"Um, Gabriella," he mumbled.

The boy visibly relaxed. "Oh, okay. I'm Benji Montez. How do you do?"

Troy chuckled and shook his small hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Hey!"

Troy lifted his head to see an Asian kid standing behind Benji. He was wearing an Indianapolis Greyhounds football jersey which was splattered in paint. He seemed familiar. Maybe he was at the front desk with Gabriella earlier that morning.

When Troy rose to his full height, he was easily half a foot taller than him.

"What's going on?"

"This is Troy, a friend of Gabi's," Benji explained, giving Troy a bright smile.

The Asian kid nodded. "I'll deal with it. Go back to Riley." He waited until Benji had disappeared down the hall and then stepped closer to Troy, looking up at him. "What do you want?"

"Um, Gabriella accidentally took one of my books home and I need it back," he said slowly.

The Asian kid narrowed his eyes. "I have a black belt in jiu jitsu."

"And I'm sure you deserve it but can I see Gabriella or not?" His patience was wearing thin.

The Asian kid reluctantly moved aside, allowing Troy to step over the threshold. "I'm Thomas, by the way, and I will kick your ass if you hurt any of my brothers or sisters."

"Honestly, I don't doubt it, I just need to see Gabriella," he mumbled, giving Tommy a sarcastic smile.

Tommy led Troy down the hall, through the kitchen, and into the back yard. Once again, bikes and skateboards were thrown down haphazardly amongst a wide range of sporting equipment. A basketball hoop was attached to the side of the house with a half deflated basketball on the ground beneath it.

Troy was overwhelmed by an ache in his chest that he hadn't experienced in a long time. But he took a deep breath and turned away, stepping closer to Tommy.

He saw Gabriella bent over on all fours on a small mat, wearing some kind of black crop top and matching leggings. Her dark hair was falling over her face and he noticed that there were tones of dark blue visible in the natural light. Two small boys were in the same position each side of her.

"Gabi, the Leatherman is here," Tommy mumbled, walking away.

"Oh, hi Troy," Gabriella said in a quiet, soothing voice, not even looking up at him. "And forward into puppy." She lowered her knees to the ground but kept her hands on the floor in front of her. The two boys copied her movements.

Troy frowned down at her. "Um, what are you doing?"

The smallest boy lifted his head to look at him. "It's called yoga. We do it when we get too excited."

"Eddie, your breathing," Gabriella scolded in the same soothing tone. "And up into candle." She sat back on her haunches and brought her hands together in front of her chest. Once again, the boys copied her. "Two more breaths. And what do we say when we finish?"

Eddie bowed his head. "Mamastay."

"Namaste," Gabriella corrected, bowing her own head. "Alex is in the kitchen. He'll get you a snack."

Eddie ran towards the house and Gabriella turned to the older boy who was wrapping his foam mat in an elastic band.

"Hey," she whispered. "Look at me, right at me. You did great today."

Troy couldn't see that the boy even acknowledged her. He only turned around and carried his rolled up mat into the house. Gabriella stood up and began rolling up hers and Eddie's mats.

"Um," Troy began, "why are you doing yoga with two little kids?"

She tucked the rolled up mats under her arm. "Sammy, the blonde boy, is autistic and the doctors said that practicing yoga may help. It gives him a time to be in control."

He paused, looking away. Not knowing what to say, he settled for: "That sucks."

She laughed, shaking her dark bangs from her forehead. "It's not easy but I don't think I'd want him to not be autistic. He has issues and it's hard on everyone's patience. But he's Sammy."

She looked away when a large brown dog ran through the yard and into the kitchen, closely followed by a ginger boy and a blonde girl. Clearly unfazed by the commotion, Gabriella turned back to him. "Anyway, how did you know I lived here?"

"I looked for a recently sold house big enough for a lot of kids. It wasn't exactly difficult." He rummaged through his backpack and held out a book. "And we swapped books on the roof. I need mine back."

She frowned, peering down at the music book. "Oh, sorry about that. Come on, I'll go and get it."

She led him into the house, passing through the kitchen where Eddie and a Latino were organising crockery. Gabriella opened the hall closet, which was overflowing with sporting equipment, and stuffed the yoga mats inside.

They climbed one flight of stairs, then two, and a third. At the top of the final flight of stairs were two opened doors. Gabriella entered the one on the right.

"Are your parents okay with you having a strange boy in your bedroom?" Troy asked as he cautiously stepped into her room as if a tripwire would set off an alarm.

She began rummaging through papers and books and said absentmindedly, "They actually trust me. Besides, the door is open, and Noah's bedroom is opposite."

Troy turned to see Noah bench pressing weights.

"Hi Leatherman," Noah called, not pausing his lifting.

"Why is everybody calling me Leatherman?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Believe it or not, a lot of people pass through this house: friends, project partners, a million girlfriends courtesy of a beloved older brother. We need a way to remember everybody. My boyfriend's the Lawbreaker."

He looked down at his boots, feeling disappointment simmer in his gut. Not that it mattered. He'd known Gabriella a day. He didn't care if she had ten boyfriends.

"It started when Maddie, my older sister, started dating this idiot when she was eighteen. A know-it-all and he bragged about everything. I mean, he would've bragged about breathing oxygen if he could. And we started calling him the idiot behind his back. Now we're not so quiet about it."

Before Troy could respond, a shrill ring echoed throughout the room.

Gabriella gestured half-heartedly to her desk next to where Troy was standing. "Could you see who it is?"

He stepped closer and saw a Nokia cell phone from the late 90s vibrating on the desk. "It says Justin."

She dropped the papers and books onto her bed and grabbed the phone from her desk, turning to look out of her window. "Hi honey."

No guessing about who Justin was.

While she was on the phone, Troy looked around the room: books stacked haphazardly on shelves, CDs piled next to the bed and a few boxes abandoned in the corner. He couldn't tell if it was what he'd expected or not.

He stepped closer to the desk, inspecting the pictures pinned to the wall. He recognised some of her siblings and there was a big picture of all them. He counted. Twelve.

Shit.

Twelve children? He could barely cope with his parents and little sister.

There were a few people he didn't recognise and he assumed they were friends from her old school. There was a framed picture on her desk of Gabriella kissing a guy, Justin apparently. She'd taken it herself, her arm visible in the corner of the photo. Justin, the Lawbreaker, was reasonably good looking with angular cheekbones and a defined jawline. He wondered how long they'd been together.

How long had it been since he'd had a girlfriend? Eight months? A year? He'd lost track. Recently, each day blurred into the next. He'd been on dates, of course he had. But he couldn't remember when he'd last called someone his girlfriend.

"Oh, well that's good," Gabriella murmured, breaking Troy from his thoughts. "I'll Skype you later. I love you."

She threw the phone back down on her desk and resumed searching for Troy's book. "Sorry about that. A thousand miles away."

He nodded, turning away from her pictures. He thought back to the last girl he went on a date with, a girl who lived opposite him and went to a different school. She wore cotton dresses and high heels and hated his motorbike, which had confirmed that the very short relationship was doomed. At seventeen, he could barely make it to a second date, much less love somebody who lived the other side of the country.

"That's okay," he muttered.

He spotted a large poster hung above her bed of a woman with fiery red hair and dark eye makeup, clutching a black and white violin. He gestured to it. "Who's that?"

"Emilie Autumn. My favourite violinist." She finally dug a book from under her crumpled duvet and held it out to him. "There you go. Sorry about that."

He slipped the book into his backpack. "It's okay." He hesitated, contemplating whether he should ask her to hang out. Deciding against it, he headed for the door.

Gabriella followed him and pulled the front door open. Before he could step a foot outside, Benji ran out of the living room.

"Troy! You're leaving?" he shrieked, looking genuinely mortified.

"I see you've met Benji," Gabriella said, quirking her mouth in a smile.

Troy shrugged and looked down at the small boy. "Yes, I am. But it's been a pleasure meeting you, little man."

He headed to his bike but Gabriella called him back. "Troy, free period tomorrow?"

He couldn't help the smile pull at his lips as he nodded.

* * *

Back at his house, his father's car was in the driveway, as usual. He walked through the front door and headed upstairs to the music room, not bothering to call hello to his parents or sister.

Perhaps music room was a bit of an exaggeration. They had a spare room in the house and they had an old piano so it made sense for the piano to live in the spare room.

It wasn't brilliant. In fact, the piano needed tuning years before he started playing. But the acoustics were so much better than the music room at East High.

A few years ago, he would practice in the auditorium at East High. The piano was new, was in tune, the acoustics were amazing, and he loved the feeling of being on stage. Even in an empty auditorium.

He sat down on the piano stool and dropped his backpack to the floor. He frowned and tentatively picked up the envelope that was resting on the piano lid. The University of Albuquerque logo in the corner was not unnoticed.

He knew what it was but he opened it anyway. Lo and behold, he was holding a prospectus for the U of A business school. How many of these had he read? Five? Six? Enough to know that he was not destined to be a businessman.

He threw it across the room and rested his elbows on the piano, pressing his knuckles into his eyes.

Why was it so important to his parents that he went to U of A? Why was it important that he studied business? What about English or drama or art? Or music? Why was it all so bad?

He snapped the lid open and slammed his fists down on the keys. The sound was harsh, echoing around him. His family were sure to have heard it.

Good.

He shrugged his jacket off and put it on top of the piano. His fingers rested lightly on the keys as he took a deep breath.

In. Out.

He imagined San Francisco: standing on the Golden Gate Bridge, travelling on the cable cars, being a thousand miles away from his family.

He pressed a single key, allowing the note to echo and then fade.

Now he could think properly. He flexed his fingers and then pressed a few more keys, the sounds blending and flowing. He pressed harder, the notes and chords louder. It was the first piece he'd ever learnt. He knew it backwards and forwards. He only ever played it to calm down.

The image of Gabriella playing her violin filed his mind. She was confident and comfortable, completely at ease with her instrument.

After all these years, he still felt tense at the piano. But it had less to do with doubts of his talents and more to do with having his parents' approval.

His mother had encouraged him to learn an instrument to have something other than basketball on his college applications. And when he didn't have basketball anymore, he turned completely to the piano.

But that wasn't good enough for the Bolton name.

Gabriella had looked completely at home with her family, as comfortable with her adopted siblings as she was with her violin. Her autistic brother, Noah the mountain, Thomas who was so passionate about protecting his sister.

He'd never really felt that way about his family. He lived with them. But if he had to choose between the piano and his family, the piano would win every time.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The Montez household in the morning was as chaotic as it was regimented. With so many people to wash, dress, and eat breakfast, Mom had designed a rather extensive schedule. From how long I had to blow dry my hair to how much time we all had to put our shoes on, we had to follow it down to the very last second.

Which wasn't always practical in a house with thirteen people.

Someone always overslept, someone else spent too long in the bathroom, and someone always spent breakfast finishing off homework. People wondered how we could be in the same place at the same time. Believe me, it took effort. It took several days to plan any family event and it took months to plan how we could ever move across the country.

Each morning, two people made breakfast, three people made paper bag lunches, two people ensured homework was complete, and the other six tried to stay calm. When my older sister moved away to college three years ago, I felt a bit overwhelmed. Suddenly, I was the oldest girl and I tried to help with my younger siblings but Maddie always seemed so calm and everyone else seemed so manic. When I asked her about it a few months later, she laughed.

 _Calm_ , she said, _in our house? Give me a break. I don't know the meaning of the word._

"Gabi, how are the eggs coming?" my dad yelled from the dining room, sounding harassed.

Nothing new there.

I added some salt and pepper to the pan, stirring the scrambled mess. "They're coming," I mumbled through a yawn.

"Up late?" Alex asked, spreading peanut butter on countless slices of bread.

"Skype call with Justin. Apparently-"

"Gabi, the eggs!" my dad snaps. He appeared in the doorway holding several soggy pieces of paper. "Riley is literally crying over spilled milk."

My heart sank. "Please tell me that's not a five page story about a dragon named Poop."

He passed the wet pages carefully into my hands. "I would but I'd be lying."

There was a crash from the dining room and he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Can we have some paper towels?" my mom asked, appearing behind my father.

He turned around, frantically ushering her back into the dining room. "Maria, you have to rest."

"I was just getting some towels," she said calmly, reluctantly leaving the kitchen.

"Nate, the eggs," I said, handing the spoon over.

I rushed to the downstairs bathroom and carefully pulled apart the pages. The ink was smudged but the words were distinguishable. Good. At seven years old, Riley had decided to write a story for her teacher. It wasn't homework or an assignment. She just wanted to do something for her teacher. We had assumed she'd get bored after a day. But she spent two whole weeks writing about a stupid dragon. I think she'd asked everybody how to spell maybe a million words. But she'd finished it.

I grabbed the hair dryer from the shelf and turned it on the low setting, waving it over the paper.

I'd moved onto the third page when my phone started ringing. I answered it without glancing at the screen and held it to my ear. "What?"

" _Gabriella?_ " Justin asked. Wow. He was awake before the first bell. Impressive.

"Oh, hi," I said.

" _English, Gabriella,_ " he said slowly.

I paused and thought about what I'd just said. I was speaking Spanish. Even though we were a combination of several races, backgrounds, and nationalities, my mother and father had taught all of us Spanish and expected each and every one of us to speak it in the house. I usually unconsciously switched from Spanish to English depending on who I was talking to. But apparently not while I was dying off my sister's handwritten story.

"Oh, sorry, honey," I mumbled. "Major disaster this morning. I'll have to call you back."

I hung up without explaining and turned back to Riley's story, still holding the hair dryer over each page.

After several minutes, I turned the hair dryer off. The ink was smudged, a couple of words were blue blobs, and the whole thing smelled faintly of cereal. But if we were ever going to get to school on time, it would have to do.

In the dining room, I handed the papers over to Riley. "I dried it," I told her, "and you can still read it."

She seemed to accept it, despite her trembling lip.

Nate drove us to East High and on our way, my phone rang again. I held the phone to my ear, trying to drown out the radio, Noah's monologue about East High's wrestling team, and a rather energetic debate between Tommy and Alex about some video game.

"Hi honey, sorry about earlier," I said into the phone.

Justin sighed on the other end. " _I know._ "

Most of our conversations started with _I'm sorry_ and _I know_ these days _._ Not exactly a good foundation for any relationship, much less people who lived on opposite sides of the country.

" _What happened?_ "

I paused. How many times had Justin met my family? Four? Five? The first time I brought him home, Sammy had a meltdown because Justin unknowingly sat in his favourite chair. The second time, Teddy had placed a whoopee cushion on his seat and Jo had put glue on his crockery. The third time, everyone, including eighteen year old Noah, acted like he was invisible.

Suffice to say, he didn't have much patience for them.

"Spilled milk," I whispered.

Thankfully, he didn't ask me to elaborate. " _Well, I wanted to ask what you were doing later._ "

"Um, I don't think I have plans," I said slowly. "Why do you ask?"

" _I wondered if you wanted to go out tonight_."

I took my phone from my ear and frowned down at it.

"Gabi? You okay?" Tommy asked.

I hesitantly held it back to my ear. "Have you hit your head? We're seventeen hours apart."

Justin laughed. " _I mean a Skype date. We'll get dressed up, eat some food and talk. Do everything we would on a real date. Well, except make out._ "

My blood rushed to my cheeks.

"What?" Alex asked, furrowing his brow.

"Dude, don't ask her that when she's talking to the Lawbreaker," Nate protested.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to a restaurant with my iPad."

" _Well what about a picnic? In your room?_ "

I sighed. It would be nice to have some alone time with him. We called and texted everyday and tried to Skype as often as we could, but it was mostly to catch up. Which teacher gave a pop quiz? Who did the head cheerleader sleep with? The town's mayor was caught doing what?

"I guess that sounds fun," I whispered. "I really miss you. Oh, we're at school. I'll see you later tonight."

Taylor caught up to me as I made my way towards the main doors. "Morning, Gabriella."

"Hey, Tay," I said, giving her a bright smile despite the stressful morning.

"Which play did you write about for our drama homework?"

" _Romeo and Juliet_. Did you go ahead with _Death of a Salesman_?"

"Yeah and now I regret it. I never thought I'd say this but Chad was right."

I laughed but it trailed off when I saw Troy out if the corner of my eye. He was sat on the grass, leaning against a tree, scribbling in his notebook. After just a couple of weeks at East High, I'd learned that Troy went nowhere without it. He still hadn't told me what he was writing and I wasn't going to ask.

"Gabriella?"

"Could you hold this?" I thrust my violin case into her arms. "I'll be two minutes."

"But we have homeroom," she protested as I headed over to Troy.

I dug into my bag and brought out a CD. When I was close enough, I kicked Troy's boot.

He looked up and pulled out an earbud. "Hey," he mumbled, getting to his feet. He glanced over my shoulder.

"Here's the CD I was talking about."

He took it from me but didn't even glance at it. Instead, he frowned at whatever was behind me. For all his questions about Emilie Autumn, he wasn't quite so interested in her best record.

"Um, thanks."

"Are you okay?"

He finally met my eyes. "I'm fine. Thanks, by the way. I'll bring it back tomorrow."

I shrugged. "Take your time."

Taylor appeared beside me and I took my violin from her. "Hi Troy," she whispered.

He coughed and nodded. "Hi Taylor."

I felt sick feeling the awkwardness between them. "Well, we have to get to homeroom."

"Free period?" Troy asked.

We'd never said it out loud but it kind of felt like our secret code and the rooftop was our secret hideout. We didn't talk about much. Actually, we rarely talked at all. We usually just studied quietly.

But every so often, Troy would ask a question about my violin. When did I start playing? Who's my favorite classical composer? Who's Emilie Autumn? I'd promised to lend him my favourite CD.

I shook my head. "I have to go to the library to finish my drama homework."

He paused and bit his pencil. "Lunch? I mean, do you want to have lunch with me?"

I smiled and nodded. "That'd be great."

As we walked towards school, Taylor said, "You didn't tell me you knew Troy."

"You didn't ask," I said as we walked into the main hall. Honestly, I didn't know why I hadn't told Taylor. In fact, I hadn't told anybody. It wasn't like me and Troy were doing anything wrong. We barely did anything. But I still didn't want Taylor asking questions.

She stopped outside of our homeroom and touched my arm. "Gabriella," she began. I couldn't decipher the look in her eyes. "Troy, he's not…" She trailed off and bit her lip, looking at her shoes as if they held the answer.

"Human?" I offered as a joke.

She sighed. "He's not a bad guy but he doesn't always know that."

I spent the morning trying to forget Taylor's words. Was she warning me? Reassuring me? In all honestly, I didn't particularly care if Troy was good or bad. Sure, he was rude on my first day but it's not like we were best friends sharing secrets.

Some days, he didn't say anything at all. But it was the days when he wouldn't shut up that worried me. When he talked like that, it was always about my family and my violin and it was as if he was holding something back.

Whether he was good or bad, he'd quickly become part of my daily routine. He didn't know it but he was kind of comforting for me. I didn't have to talk or answer anything if I didn't want to. He didn't expect me to do anything.

I silently offered my bag of chips to him and he took a few without looking up from his book. For once, it wasn't his usual yellow notebook. Instead, it was the white one he used in class.

After a while, he said, "Gabriella, do you…" He looked at me and something seemed to change in his face. He gestured to my own notebook. "Do you have the third equation from math?"

I could see it right there on the page in front of him but I handed over my notebook anyway. "Troy, I'm not going to ask about Taylor."

For a minute, I wasn't sure if he'd heard me. But then he said, "There's nothing to ask about."

"That's fine. But I need you to know that even if there was something worth knowing, I wouldn't ask."

"That's not what most people would say."

But I wasn't most people. Never had been. I thought of my brothers and sisters, my father permanently worried these days, my mother effortlessly happy despite everything.

I knew what most people were like. Asking questions, spreading rumours, assuming they knew everything. I'd been on the end of it all.

"In case you haven't noticed, Montezs aren't known for being 'most people,'" I said quietly.

He finally looked up and gave my book back to me. "I know. And Gabriella? I wouldn't ask either."

I held on to Troy's words through the rest of my classes, through my brothers' bickering, through the chaos at home.

After my yoga session with Sammy and Eddie, I showered and dried my hair, pinning it into a messy bun. I always thought that I looked like a little girl when my hair was pulled back but Justin insisted I looked beautiful. I took my time applying my makeup, grateful that I remembered how to do it. I hadn't bothered wearing it since we moved to Albuquerque.

I pulled out my black dress from the depths of my closet and slipped it on. It was Justin's favourite, he said I brought out my eyes.

I lay down a blanket, set out some cushions, and went downstairs to get the food I'd prepared earlier. When I told everyone what I was doing, they laughed. Alex laughed so hard that he started wheezing and had to use his asthma inhaler.

At 7pm, I signed into Skype on my iPad. Even after six months, I was surprised to see that Justin wasn't online. I knew he was tardy but I thought he'd at least make an effort tonight considering it was his idea. And I was over a thousand away.

I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my contacts. I hovered over his name. I could act concerned that he was hurt or ill. I could give him the cold shoulder and pretend I'd forgotten all about the date that he'd suggested. Or I could just wait for him to get online.

I sat at my desk and read several pages of the novel we were studying in English. I didn't check the clock until there was a ping from my iPad. Half an hour. That was actually early for Justin.

" _I'm sorry,_ " he blurted out as soon as I answered his Skype call.

I picked at some thread on the blanket. "I know."

I was used to hearing his apologies and saying mine. But tonight was supposed to be special. Our first real date since I'd moved away. I'd never expected anything from him: not to be together every day, not to text me every morning, not even to get along with me family. But part of me always expected him to show up on time for dates. And the other part always expected him not to.

The silence dragged by. Oh god. I'd felt annoyed, angry, and frustrated on our dates. But I'd never felt awkward. And this made Troy's and Taylor's awkwardness feel like a breeze.

"Justin, I-"

I was interrupted at a knock on the door.

"Come in," I called, grateful for the distraction.

" _Gabriella,_ " Justin exclaimed.

I ignored him and turned to see Sammy standing in my doorway. I smiled brightly. Okay, he interrupted my date but it wasn't exactly going swimmingly and Sammy was my only sibling who didn't make Justin feel unwelcome on purpose.

Sammy trudged over to me and silently held a piece of paper to me. He bowed his head, looking at his feet.

I looked down at the drawing in front of me. It was a map of Indiana. The move was hard on everybody, but it had upset Sammy the most. He woke up screaming in the night. I guessed he had nightmares but because he didn't talk, we had no way of knowing. We could only hold him and be patient.

"Sammy, this is beautiful. Has Tommy been letting you use his pencils again?"

Just like I practiced yoga with Sammy, Tommy let him use the expensive art supplies that were off limits for the rest of us. It calmed him down and gave him something to control. Tommy mostly painted landscapes and still life pieces. Sammy, on the other hand, drew maps.

He didn't look up at me.

"Have you showed Mommy?"

His gaze flicked up to mine and then he looked away again.

"Come on, let's go and find her."

" _Gabriella!_ "

I sighed and looked at Justin's incredulous face. "I'll be five minutes."

I got to my feet and Sammy grabbed a handful of my dress. We went downstairs to the lounge where Mom was sat in the armchair with her feet up, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

Sammy climbed up into her lap and gave her his drawing without saying a word. We were all patient with Sammy. We were all patient with Sammy. We spoke quietly, limited physical contact, and tried to involve him with calming activities so he didn't get overwhelmed.

But it was my mom that always knew what to do. Whatever he was feeling, no matter what went wrong, she knew what to do. And mostly, she didn't have to do or say anything to make the world better in his eyes.

My dad looked up from the papers he was grading. He'd been at the University of Albuquerque a matter of weeks and I knew he was already driving the philosophy majors crazy.

"How long was he with Tommy tonight?" he asked, looking over his glasses at me.

I shrugged, still looking at my brother. "I don't know. He just walked into my bedroom and showed me that."

"Aren't you supposed to be on your date?" my mom asked.

"Yeah."

My mom and dad shared a look and seemed to talk without saying anything at all in that way all married couples do.

Without saying anything else, I turned around and went back to my room. When I picked up my iPad, I saw that Justin had signed out of Skype. I felt like crying but I couldn't. My eyes were bone dry. I picked up my phone, expecting a text or a voicemail. But nothing.

I pulled on my pyjamas and buried beneath the blankets on my bed, eating the food I'd prepared. I didn't play any music or read any of my books. I just lay there, eating the food I should've shared with my boyfriend.

A while later, although I wasn't sure how later, there was a knock at the door and Jo stepped inside without waiting for a reply.

"Gabi, do you- What happened to your date?"

I sat up and shrugged. "It ended. What do you need?"

She blushed and twirled some blonde hair around her finger. "Gabi, do you have any pads?"

I nodded silently and got out of bed. I dug through my underwear drawer and handed a box to her. She'd only started her period a couple of months ago and still didn't know her cycle and kept forgetting to keep pads _just in case_.

She gripped them in her hands as if they were the key to life. But she didn't acknowledge them. "Do you want to talk? About Justin?"

Jo was smart, smarter than most twelve year olds, and she had more things to think about than most twelve year olds did. But as smart as she was, how could she help?

I shook my head.

"Should I get Mom?"

And give her more to worry about? God no.

"Jo, I'm fine. I'll be fine, I promise."

She paused but turned around and headed back downstairs to her room. But before I could get back into bed, there was another knock at the door.

"I couldn't help but hear what you said to Jo," Noah said.

I rolled my eyes. "That I keep sanitary pads in my underwear drawer? Wonderful."

Usually, he would complain at being told anything to do with periods and 'girl things'. But he completely ignored it. "No, about your date."

I sat down on my bed and refused to meet his gaze. "Look, I know that you don't like him but-"

"That's irrelevant," he said.

"But you've made it perfectly clear-"

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what we, any of us, think of him. We just want him to treat you right."

I looked up at him then. My big brother, so allergic to emotion but so protective of everyone he cared about.

"You know, if he doesn't make you happy, or if you don't love him anymore, or even if you're finding long distance too hard, you can say so. Nobody will think any less of you."

He didn't even wait for me to say anything, just turned and went back to his room.

I jumped up and rushed to my doorway. "Noah."

He opened his door again. "Gabi," he said, a glint in his eye. I knew all seriousness was gone.

"Thanks."


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: Sorry about the technical difficult** **ies earlier. Thank you to the readers who told me about the issue. This should work now. Enjoy x**

* * *

Chapter Four

At breakfast, Troy stared at a spot on the wall behind his father's head. He was talking about some basketball or football or baseball game and Troy honestly didn't give a flying fuck. His mother was already at work so it was just Troy, his little sister, and his father. He assumed that Gabriella's mornings were chaotic, but would it be worse than his?

He accidentally made eye contact with his father and quickly looked away. No, it would not be worse than his mornings.

"So, Troy," his father began, "what's happening at school? You haven't said anything recently."

There was a very interesting application form hidden in his bedroom he was dying to talk about, but he wouldn't mention it to his father over breakfast.

He shrugged, stirring the soggy remains of his cereal. "Nothing interesting has happened recently."

"No tests or detentions we should know about?"

Troy glanced at his sister. He hated when his parents acted all nonchalant but actually knew everything. Well, most things.

His father wiped his mouth with a napkin and sipped his coffee. "Troy, I know you're upset and rightly so. But you have to think of your future."

His future. What a concept.

"You need to start thinking about your grades, work experience. The U of A business school has a very thorough admissions process and I can only help you so far."

Troy finally met his father's gaze. "Dad, I-"

He almost told his father everything: the application form, his plans for college, even about Gabriella.

But his father looked so hopeful.

"I'm trying," he whispered, looking back down at his cereal.

He left the house and spent a while idly driving around town, wasting time and gas. The streets were quiet except for a few runners and dog walkers. Although the air was chilly, it promised to be a warm day.

He ground to a halt at a red light and looked over his sunglasses at a girl running on the other side of the street. She seemed familiar. Maybe she was a sophomore or in different classes.

She noticed him. Maybe she would've smiled at him or even flirted a little had she been close enough. But he would never find out. The light turned green and he sped away towards East High.

He had half a mind to offer Gabriella a ride to school. But, what would that accomplish, even if she said yes? They would still share the rooftop garden during free period, he would still avoid most conversation topics, and she would still have Justin. He almost turned down her street but decided against it and drove straight on.

There were only a few cars in the student parking lot when he got to East High and he pulled up in one of the bike spaces. He sat there for a while, not quite ready to go into the school.

His parents meant well, of course they did. They wanted him to do well, to get a good education, and to have a bright future, no matter how dim it seemed to him. Even his friends, or ex-friends, wanted what was best for him even if that meant not being friends anymore. But it was so difficult to talk to them all. They all thought they knew who he was and what he should be doing. They expected him to be the same Troy they'd always known.

He dismounted his bike and headed into the school. He stowed his helmet in his locker and set off down the hall towards the auditorium.

As he thought, the theatre was deserted, smelling vaguely of cleaning products and mothballs. He hopped onto the stage with as much ease as he mounted his motorcycle and dropped his backpack to the floor. His stomach twisted with nerves and he felt like throwing up, despite how he was alone.

He had to do it. He had to get over his habit of playing alone. It was calming and therapeutic to be alone with his piano. But nothing would ever come of it. It would just always be him and his piano. He needed something more if he was ever going to get to San Francisco.

He sat down on the stool and pressed a few keys, listening to the sounds echo around the stage. His heart swelled and he swallowed the lump in his throat. He pressed a few more keys and played the song that nobody had heard. He still had to write the end but it was amazing to hear his arrangement of notes and chords in an auditorium. It almost made all of his parents' complaints worthwhile.

Almost.

Throughout his classes, his fingers itched to go back to the auditorium and play again. But he couldn't. Not with band practice and drama club and Ms Darbus constantly interrupting.

In biology, he looked over his shoulder at Gabriella and she smiled at him, but it seemed a bit forced.

During free period, Gabriella had left her violin in her locker and was reading the book they were studying in English. Or at least, the book was open in her lap. Instead of reading, she was really just staring out across the Albuquerque mountains. She'd barely said anything since they got up there.

He almost asked her what was wrong. But instead, he focussed on his song, the quavers and treble clefs arranging themselves on the pages in front of him. He heard the music in his heard as clearly as if he was sat at the piano.

"Hey, Troy?"

He didn't lift his head. "Hmmm?"

"You're a guy, right?"

He lifted his head, furrowing his brow. "If I'm not, I've been using the wrong bathroom for years."

He expected her to roll her eyes like most people did when he made a sarcastic comment. Instead, she ignored his comment and said, "Let's pretend you're dating a girl with a big family."

"Like eleven siblings?"

She paused. "Right. Is it safe to assume she has a commitment to her family?"

He shrugged. "I like to believe everyone has a commitment to their family. Why?"

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter."

But he knew that it did.

She was quiet for the rest of free period and when the bell rang, she made no effort to go to their math class.

On his way down the hall, he heard a voice call, "Hey, Leatherman."

He turned to find Noah jogging towards him. Troy couldn't be certain but he thought he could feel the ground shake. "Noah, right?"

The tower of muscle nodded. "Have you seen Gabi today?"

"We just spent free period together. Why?"

Noah shifted from one foot to the other. "Has she been okay?"

"No, not really. She got answers wrong in biology and we had a pretty weird conversation during free period. She asked me if would I assume a girl with a big family has family commitments."

Noah closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. For a brief moment, Troy saw Gabriella in him, despite how they weren't biologically related. She made the same action and sighed the same way when she was struggling with her drama or English homework.

"She had a pretty bad date last night."

Troy frowned. "I thought her boyfriend was in Indiana."

"Oh he is and I'd like to keep it that way. It was a skype date and he left when Sammy wanted to show Gabi a drawing."

Troy nodded slowly, thinking back to when he went to their house and saw her doing yoga with Sammy and Eddie. She looked at both of them with nothing but love and patience, as if she'd do anything for them.

"That sucks," he said, repeating what he said to Gabriella when she told him Sammy was autistic.

"Just look out for her, okay?"

When Troy entered Mr Miller's math classroom, his eyes automatically move to the back row where Gabriella usually sat. Instead, the chair was empty.

"Bolton, are you suffering from permanent jet lag? Detention," Mr Miller snapped.

Troy rolled his eyes and snatched the pink slip offered to him. As he was taking his books and pens from his bag, the door slammed open and Gabriella skidded to a halt when everyone turned to face her. He met her eyes but she looked away.

"Miss Montez, I see you are learning a few bad habits from Mr Bolton. Detention." He handed her a pink slip and she hurried to the back of the classroom.

Although they didn't share every class, Troy did his best to keep his promise to Noah. And, quite frankly, he was worried. She seemed to be permanently out of focus, asking teachers to repeat questions and even getting answers wrong.

He'd never met 'The Lawbreaker' and he didn't particularly want to.

At the last bell, Troy traipsed to the second floor study hall, the usual detention room and more or less his second home. He handed the pink slip to Miss Jameson, an English teacher, and sat at the back of the room in his usual seat. He nodded to a few other people who were also permanent residents of detention.

A few minutes later, Gabriella arrived and handed her slip to the teacher. She hesitated, glancing at the other students, and made her way to the back. She took the seat next to Troy and smiled at him but it didn't quite meet her eyes.

Miss Jameson left the room, warning the students not to talk or move or have fun in any way. But as soon as the door closed, a quiet murmur erupted.

Troy turned to Gabriella. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "I was late to math."

"Follow up question: why were you late?"

"Troy…" She looked over at him. "I don't know. All I know is that you seem to stress a lot of people out. But I feel calm around you. Calmer than I've felt in a long time."

Miss Jameson returned and the conversation stopped before Troy could say anything else.

A half hour later, they were finally free and Troy and Gabriella walked the empty halls together. Even though Gabriella's brothers had long since left campus in their truck, she walked with Troy to the student parking lot.

When they approached his bike, he turned to her. It had been so long that he had almost forgotten how to ask, but he found his voice anyway. "Do you want to hang out? Now?"

She shook her bangs out of her eyes. "I would but I have two little brothers waiting for a yoga session."

"Well, do you want a ride?"

She glanced at his bike. "I've never ridden a motorcycle before."

He held his helmet out to her. "It's a good job you won't be driving then."

"Where's your helmet?"

"Don't have a spare," he said as he mounted the bike and started the engine.

"What if we crash?"

He shrugged. "Let's hope we don't."

She pulled her helmet on and straddled the bike behind him; he could sense her hesitation.

"Hold on then," Troy said.

He felt her wrap her arms around his waist, pressing her hands into his stomach. He could feel her body heat against his back, her breath against his neck. He felt oddly nervous but it had nothing to do with riding without a helmet.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he knocked the kickstand up and slowly navigated the student parking lot. When they were out on the main street, he picked up some speed, probably more than he should have. But he felt Gabriella tighten her arms around him and rest her chin on his shoulder and he knew that she was enjoying it. He took the long route to her house which had less traffic so he could drive faster and he heard her shriek with delight. He knew she was still upset about Justin and he knew he couldn't make it better. But she seemed more alive than she had all day.

He slowed to a stop outside of her house and she climbed off the bike before he had time to kick down the stand. She pulled her helmet off and jumped up and down, grinning from ear to ear.

"That was amazing," she squealed.

Troy couldn't help smiling as he dismounted the bike and took the helmet off her. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"How do you not do that everyday?"

He shrugged. "The novelty wears off after a while, I promise."

Her smile faded a little bit but her eyes were still bright with excitement. "Thank you," she said earnestly. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

He glanced over her shoulder at the house crammed with too many people and too many toys. He didn't really know them. He still didn't really know Gabriella but she'd become such a constant part of his life that he found himself nodding before he could comprehend it.

They made their way up the garden path and Gabriella let both of them inside.

"You know you said your brother plays the piano? Tommy, was it?"

She nodded as she stowed her sneakers in the hall closet.

"Do you have a piano?"

If she seemed surprised at his request, she didn't show it. Instead, she took him down to the basement. Honestly, it wasn't what he expected. No musty smell or cobwebs or towers of forgotten boxes from the move. Instead, it was spacious and carpeted with a piano in the corner. A battered drum set was next to the piano with a few other instruments lying around. A few chairs were scattered haphazardly and countless music stands were leaning against the wall. He tried to imagine her entire family crammed in there, enjoying each other's company and playing music together.

He sat down at the piano and frowned. It was beat up worse than the one at his house. One leg had been replaced by a plank of wood, there was a huge dent down the top and the pedals were-

"Are those car pedals?" he exclaimed.

She laughed and leaned her elbow on the piano; it seemed to creak under the pressure. "Don't worry. Nate fixed it. He's been fixing shit since he was five. It sounds great. Try it."

He took a deep breath. This would be the first time playing the piano in front of someone in what? Ten months? A year? He pressed a few keys, playing the song that comforted him, that made him feel safe. He only played a few bars but he saw a smile, a real smile, spread across Gabriella's face.

Bizarrely, the piano sounded better than the one in East High's auditorium. "That actually sounds pretty awesome."

"Told you Nate was good. Speaking of being good, I liked that. How long have you played?"

"I started having lessons when I was about ten."

"You didn't strike me as a pianist."

"Let me guess: I struck you as a criminal?" he joked, not quite meeting her eyes. He was still trying to get over the fact he'd just played the piano in front of her and that she enjoyed it.

She laughed and he looked up at her, loving the sound. "Something like that. I'd love to hear you play some more but I have to find Sammy and Eddie for yoga. I'll be in the yard if you need me and if anybody comes down here, don't let them bully you. Their bark is worse than their bite, I promise."

Gabriella disappeared back upstairs, leaving her bag and jacket in the corner.

Troy dug through his backpack and brought out his music book and a pencil which he tucked behind his ear. He started playing his song, loving the acoustics of the basement. When he got to the end, he added a few more notes, finally seeing some clarity through the writer's block he'd had for the past few weeks. He had wondered whether Gabriella was hindering his ability to write music. But maybe she was helping him and she didn't even know it.

Before he could even put his fingers back on the keys, a shrill ring burst from Gabriella's bag. He paused. He could ignore it. He could take the bag up to Gabriella. Both options left a missed call or a voicemail. Instead, he left the piano and dug through her bag to find her phone.

Not even glancing at the screen, he held it to his ear. "Gabriella's phone."

Silence.

"Who is this?" a guy's voice asked. Annoyed? Mad? It was hard to tell.

"Troy. Who are you?"

"So you're the famous Bolton? Gabi's told me all about you. I'm Justin."

The Lawbreaker.

"She's told me hardly anything about you," Troy muttered, sitting back at the piano. He held the phone against his shoulder and started to write the added notes into his music book, only half listening to Justin.

"So where's Gabi?"

"She's doing yoga with Sammy and Eddie."

Justin groaned. "Again? I swear those little brats know exactly when I'm going to call."

That got Troy's attention. Would this guy really insult his girlfriend's family that way?

"I bet Noah the mountain has already told you all about our date. Or lack thereof."

Troy opened his mouth to give this son of a bitch a piece of his mind when the phone was prised from his hand. He looked up to find one of the Asian kids holding it to his ear. Was it Tommy or Nate? Gabriella had told him how to tell them apart but it was impossible up close.

"Go make a sandwich you lowlife cheese head," the kid said in flawless Spanish. He hung up and slammed the phone on top of the piano, shaking with anger. And who could blame him?

Troy was quiet for a moment and then said, "Why did you call him a cheese head in Spanish?"

A smile slowly spread across his face. "You speak Spanish?"

"High school Spanish but I know enough to get what you just said."

"Well we speak Spanish here. You know, when we don't have guests. And the Lawbreaker doesn't know a single word."

"Even though his girlfriend speaks it?"

"I know, it doesn't make sense to us either. I'm Tommy, by the way. But we have met."

"Your sister told me how to tell you apart but-"

"I know. Hey, I'll leave you down here. Gabi will get you when dinner's ready. Everyone will speak Spanish at first to catch you out. Don't let on that you understand. Have a little fun."

Tommy disappeared upstairs and Troy turned back to his music. He tried to forget about the Lawbreaker but his thoughts kept going back to how Justin had spoken about Gabriella's siblings. He wondered if he should tell Gabriella about his little conversation.

Before he could decide, Gabriella ran down the stairs dressed in some shorts and a bright blue Sun High t shirt. Her forehead glowed with sweat from the heat and her yoga session. He almost told her that she looked pretty, but he felt that it was inappropriate somehow.

She told him that they were having pastelitos de pollo for dinner and took him upstairs to the dining room. The table was filled with plates and bowls of food he'd never heard of before. Gabriella told him that her parents were originally from El Salvador and held on to their heritage. He'd never tasted Salvadoran food but it smelt amazing.

He sat down between Gabriella and Benji and she introduced everyone around the table.

Her mother, Maria, sat at one end next to Noah and her father, Greg, sat at the other end next to Gabriella's youngest sister, Riley. Greg and Maria were nothing if not welcoming. Gabriella introduced him and they merely set an extra place at the table without asking anything. Maria was calm and looked at each of her children as if they were the most important person. Greg, on the other hand, seemed tense although he tried to hide it with smiles and laughs. He was serving food onto Riley's plate, laughing at what she was saying. But he kept glancing at Maria. If anybody else noticed, they didn't say anything.

Troy sat there quietly, watching as everybody fell into some sort of rhythm. Everyone knew who liked what, how much salsa to serve, where to move the dishes to next. He felt like he was observing them through a window.

And, as Tommy had promised, they were all speaking Spanish.

Gabriella nudged him and held out a bowl of the pastelitos. "Take some. There's salsa and salpicon de res, too. Oh and make sure you try Alex's pupusas."

She sighed and glanced around at her siblings who were still chattering away in Spanish. "Can we use English please? Just until Troy goes home."

He glanced at Tommy who winked at him.

"Can you pass the salsa, please?" Troy asked in Spanish.

The table fell silent and everybody gazed at him. For a moment, he thought he'd accidentally said something offensive.

"You speak Spanish?" Gabriella finally asked.

He nodded. "Yep."

Without any further comment, the the previous conversations resumed but now in English. He looked at Gabriella and she had a gleam in her eye that he couldn't quite decipher.

After dinner, he went downstairs to grab his backpack and jacket and met Gabriella on the front porch.

"You surprised me back there," she said as he shrugged on his jacket.

"I spoke Spanish, not assembled the space shuttle."

She laughed but it trailed off when he met her eyes.

"Gabriella? I have to tell you something."

"Let me guess: you really did build the space shuttle?" she joked.

"I'm serious," he mumbled.

She shut the door and stepped closer to him. He almost turned around and ran to his bike. But he'd already come too far.

"I know what went down between you and the Lawbreaker last night," he said slowly.

She stared up at him and folded her arms. "How the hell do you know what happened?"

"Noah told me."

"Look, whatever Noah told you-"

"He sounds like a douchebag," he interrupted loudly. "Justin, not Noah."

"You don't even know him."

He stepped closer and looked down on her, their noses almost touching. "Yeah, and I don't particularly want to. All I know is that you're smart-"

She rolled her eyes. "Give me a break."

"-and funny and you accept me for who I am without question."

That made her pause and something in her eyes changed. It was as if she'd never heard a compliment before. This conversation would either bring them closer together or she'd never speak to him again. But either way, he knew that she needed to hear everything he was saying.

"No one should make you feel bad for spending time with your family." He paused. "At least, I wouldn't."

Gabriella was clearly furious, breathing heavily, eyes narrowed. He didn't think she had it in her but she was honestly terrifying. She was terrifying to the point where she was honest-to-god sexy. He could just imagine pushing her against the front door and kissing her. Hard. He could imagine how it would feel to press his body against hers and run his fingers through her hair.

"Yes, well," she said after a moment, "you're not my boyfriend."

There was something in her voice that made him step back. She said it with finality, as if it was never even a possibility. And somewhere deep inside, he was hurt.

"No, I'm not," he whispered, looking down at his boots. He thought she might say something else: an apology or something to ease the tension. When she didn't, he lifted his head and said, "Free period tomorrow?"

She sighed. "Maybe."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

He turned around and stormed down the garden path to his bike. As he pulled on his helmet, he turned to look at Gabriella but she had already gone inside.


	6. Author's Note

Hi guys, a few of people have requested a list of Gabriella's siblings so I thought I'd give you one:

1\. Madeliene (Maddie) – 21 years old

2\. Noah – 18 years old

3\. Gabriella – 17 years old

4\. Nathanial (Nate) and Thomas (Tommy) – 16 year old, twins

5\. Alexander (Alex) – 14 years old

6\. Joanna (Jo) – 12 years old

7\. Theodore (Teddy) – 9 years old

8\. Benjamin (Benji) and Riley – 7 years old, twins

9\. Samuel (Sammy) – 5 years old

10\. Edward (Eddie) – 3 years old

Apologies again for the previous technical difficulties. Remember: reviews are welcome and my inbox is always open.

I am looking for someone to cowrite with so if anybody's interested, let me know.


	7. Chapter Five

**A/N: Enjoy**

* * *

Chapter Five

I avoided Troy as well as you can avoid anybody in high school. I didn't visit the rooftop, I didn't look at him in class, and I didn't walk past his usual parking spot. And I was relieved, albeit a little insulted, that Troy seemed to be avoiding me, too.

I didn't tell anybody about our fight. My brothers and sisters would tell me Troy was right, my parents would tell me that I shouldn't have spoken to Troy that way (which I knew), and Taylor would tell me he wasn't really a bad guy. But for the most part, nobody seemed to notice that anything was wrong. Noah gave me a few strange looks during lunch on Friday but he didn't ask anything, thank god.

On Saturday, I went to work, serving food that cost more than I earned in a twelve hour shift. I usually dreaded the demeaning uniform and stuck up customers but I was grateful for the distraction.

When I got home, Nate was cooking with Dad and Mom was sleeping on the couch. I got a blanket from the hall closet and draped it over her, feeling tears gather in my eyes. All of my life, she'd been the first to wake up and the last one to fall asleep, making sure that everybody had everything they needed to have a good day. But recently, she wasn't strong enough to even have a real shower, having to give herself sponge baths when she had enough energy. I brushed my tears away and made an effort to smile for my siblings' sakes.

I took Eddie and Sammy to the yard where we did our usual routine with Eddie's usual enthusiasm. I couldn't be certain but I thought I saw Sammy smile for a moment.

I changed into my Sun High sweats and joined Nate and Dad in the kitchen. "Should I wake Mom for dinner?"

Dad didn't look at me but Nate caught my eye. "I think it's better that she rests, don't you? Besides, there'll be plenty of leftovers so if she's hungry when she wakes up, I'll reheat something."

"Dad," I started.

"What?" he snapped. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Gabi."

God. How did it feel to live without apologies? I mean, Mom and Dad taught us to apologise when we did something wrong, even if they needed to remind us sometimes. But recently, it seemed that all I said and all I heard was 'I'm sorry'. In fact, the only person who hadn't apologised was Troy. And maybe I wanted him to apologise for what he said about Justin, but it was refreshing that he didn't say it everyday.

I looked at Nate who looked at me and then he looked at Dad. Dad was looking down at the chopped tomatoes.

"We're all scared," I mumbled.

We took the food to the dining room and crammed ourselves around the table. It was cramped and cozy but it was surprising how empty it felt without one person. When Maddie moved away to college, the gap between Teddy and Nate where she used to sit felt like the Grand Canyon. Now, I struggled to look away from Mom's empty chair. Recently, it was empty more and more.

We fell into our usual routines of serving, passing dishes, pouring drinks, but we were quieter, conscious of Mom still asleep in the next room. Jo asked if we'd go to a soccer game next Saturday but I had work and Dad had to take Mom to the hospital. Noah promised to take everybody else, though. The upside to having a big family was that cheerleaders were guaranteed at any event.

"When is Troy coming over again?" Benji asked as I poured some more juice for him.

"We probably won't be seeing Troy again."

"Didn't he like us?"

I looked down at him and something inside of me crumbled. How many things in my life had crumbled recently? My mom, my relationship, my friendship with Troy. How much was left standing?

"Of course he did. He loved you all," I whispered, glancing around at my brothers and sisters. Noah was looking at me, just as he had been at lunch on Friday.

"Then why won't he be back?" Teddy asked.

I rubbed my forehead and glanced at Sammy and Riley and the other younger kids. "We had a fight. That's all."

Eddie started talking about a game of monopoly he and Riley played that morning. Luckily for me, everybody else seemed to forget about Troy, too. Except Noah, who kept looking at me.

After the younger ones went to bed, Mom woke up and Dad gave her some leftovers. A Spanish soap opera was playing on TV but nobody was really watching it apart from Mom.

I looked up from my book to see Noah watching me. Again. "Oh my god, stop it," I snapped.

Noah shrugged. "I'd just like to know what you and Troy fought about."

I looked at my parents and brothers. Alex barely looked up from his laptop, Nate and Tommy glanced away from their cell phones, but Mom and Dad were watching me like a hawk. They were concerned. In fact, their worry was palpable. But I knew they would tell me Troy was right.

"You had a fight with Troy?" Mom asked, turning the volume down on the TV.

"It's not that bad." I took a deep breath. "He told me Justin is a douchebag."

Alex laughed, Tommy and Nate high fived, and Noah rolled his eyes. Mom and Dad glanced at each other.

"How does he know Justin?" Dad asked. Although my parents didn't despise Justin to the same extent my siblings did, I knew they wouldn't be sad if we broke up.

"Well someone," I made a point of looking at Noah, "told Troy about my Skype date."

Noah quirked an eyebrow. "Please don't tell me you're mad. I only told him because I was worried about you." He spoke calmly, as if he was telling me the weather for the week ahead.

"Of course I'm mad," I whispered. "I know Justin's not perfect but thanks to you, Troy only knows about his mistakes and he won't listen to anything else I say about him."

Not that I'd tried to tell Troy anything else about Justin.

Noah shrugged. "I didn't think the Lawbreaker had anything going for him except his mistakes."

"Look," Dad said eventually, easing the tension, "do you want to be friends with Troy?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"You're just like your mother," he mumbled.

Mom leaned across the couch and playfully hit his arm. "I hope there's a compliment in there somewhere."

For the first time in a long time, my father's face softened when he looked at my mother. He'd looked tense and worried for so long that I barely recognised him. The worry was still there but it was softer somehow.

" Of course it's a compliment." He turned to face me. "For what my opinion is worth, I think you should talk to him."

On Monday, I swallowed my pride and went to the rooftop at free period. My dad was wrong about a lot of things, especially girl things, but I knew he was right about this. I didn't like what Troy said about Justin but that didn't justify how I'd talked to him.

While I waited for Troy, I texted Justin. We hadn't called or Skyped since our disastrous date. I got the feeling that he was waiting for my apology and I was definitely waiting for his. In fact, we'd started having the same conversations I had with my fifth grade boyfriend:

J: Hi  
G: Hi  
J: How are you?  
G: Fine. You?  
J: Fine

Ten minutes passed.

Troy wasn't coming. Maybe he hadn't come to the rooftop since our fight. Maybe he was right to stay away from me. Troy was avoiding me and Justin wasn't making much of an effort to talk to me. Maybe I was the problem.

I spent the rest of free period lying on the bench with my feet propped up on the railing, staring at the roof of the gazebo. I ignored the rest of Justin's texts.

Why did this fight with Troy bother me? I knew that I was wrong in how I reacted but this was more than guilt. Was I honestly upset because a guy I'd known for a few weeks didn't like my boyfriend? The chances of Troy and Justin ever meeting were slim to none. Why did it matter that Troy didn't like him? My brothers and sisters didn't like Justin and I coped with that just fine. Why did I care so much about Troy's opinion?

I mean, I liked Troy and I liked spending time with him. Okay, so we didn't hang out at the mall or go to the movies or even really talk to each other outside of free period. But he seemed to get me somehow without knowing much about me. He didn't ask questions or push or expect anything from me. He just came to the rooftop every free period, sat next to me on the bench, and scribbled in his music book. But he made me feel accepted.

When the bell rang, I made my way to English class which was filled with the usual metaphors and symbolism I didn't understand. Troy sat several desks away and didn't seem to make any notes for the entire lesson.

At lunch, I sat with Taylor and her friends, barely registering their voices. I broke the crusts off my sandwiches but didn't touch the rest, feeling nauseated.

"Are you okay? You've been quiet all day," Taylor said.

I glanced at the boys who were discussing an upcoming basketball game. "I'm fine."

"Did you guys hear what Melanie North and Tyler Parsons were caught doing in the janitor's closet near the gym?" Sharpay asked, referring to a cheerleader and a football player.

"Actually," I interrupted, "I'm not okay. I need some advice."

I could've asked Mom but she didn't need that kind of worry. I could've asked Maddie but she had her own life now. Jo wasn't old enough to understand and I didn't want Noah to tell me Troy was right. These girls were my last hope.

Sharpay looked like she was about to protest but eventually asked, "What's wrong?"

I glanced once again at the boys but they didn't seem to be listening. "You know that I've been spending free periods with Troy? Well, we had a fight and I'm not sure what to do about it."

Kelsi pushed her empty lunch tray to the centre of the table. "What was it about?"

"He called my boyfriend a douchebag," I said, tearing my crusts into smaller pieces. "And it really upset me."

Sharpay shrugged. "That's understandable. I mean, I'd be upset if someone called Zeke a douchebag."

"You'd send a hitman to kill that someone," Taylor mumbled.

Sharpay winked at Zeke.

"Girls! That shouldn't bother me. My family don't really like him so why do I care so much about what Troy thinks?"

The girls glanced at each other and went quiet for a moment.

"Well," Kelsi started quietly, "what did he say?"

"He basically said that he would be a better boyfriend than Justin," I said.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "So, do you agree with him?"

Troy caused less drama than Justin. Troy didn't want or ask for anything from me and he seemed to actually like my family and they liked him. He was quiet and complicated and maybe he sometimes dealt with that the wrong way.

And who was I kidding? He was sexy as hell. I remembered how his body felt when I was pressed against him on his motorcycle: all muscles and strength and heat. He had a quiet smile that lit up his eyes. I didn't see it often but when I did, I couldn't help but smile back.

But none of that mattered.

Justin was my boyfriend. Justin, who I'd known since third grade. He knew more about me in his pinkie than Troy knew in his entire body. We had our rough patches but Justin had always been there for me and he always, well usually, knew what to say to make me feel better. Justin knew exactly who he was, even if my family didn't like that person. Troy, on the other hand, didn't seem to have a clue.

"I don't know," I exclaimed, rubbing my forehead.

"Babe," Chad said, turning to Taylor, "we're going to shoot a few hoops before the bell rings. I'll see you in drama."

He kissed her cheek and the boys gathered their trash to head for the gym.

Taylor turned back to me. "Well, if Troy asked you out, would you say yes?"

"No," I said instantly, although I wouldn't look up from my food. "That's stupid. I have Justin and Troy knows that."

"What if you didn't have Justin?" Sharpay asked. "What would you say then?"

I pushed my half eaten lunch away, feeling the sickness get worse. I could barely imagine my life without Justin. We'd only been dating for six months or so but we'd known each other a really long time.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Maybe you're upset because you know Troy's right. Maybe he would be a better boyfriend than this Justin," Kelsi suggested. "Maybe you just don't want to admit it."

So many maybes.

Maybe I was better off without Troy.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm still looking for a cowriter :)**

 **These are some ideas I'm thinking of:**

 **A Cinderella Story - Where Troy is a celebrity**

 **A Cinderfella Story - Where Troy is the 'servant'**

 **The Prince And Me**

 **Something about a racial divide where East High is a 'white school' and Gabriella is the new girl**

 **Gabriella is the guardian for her niece and nephew and hires Troy as a nanny (like the sitcom Melissa and Joey)**

 **Troy OR Gabriella has cancer (I haven't decided which way I should go)**

 **Troy and Gabriella dated in high school but broke up. They have a one night stand and Gabriella gets pregnant (like Rachel and Ross from _Friends_ )**

 **If anything sounds good, let me know :)**


	8. Chapter Six

**A/N: I know what you're thinking: Two updates in two days? What is going on? Well, this is just a filler but it had to be written.**

 **In other news, justadreamingangel, I'm happy to co write but your inbox is turned off so I can't get in touch.**

* * *

Chapter Six

Life was simpler without Gabriella. He didn't have to think about her eleven siblings or her jackass of a boyfriend.

And he didn't have to worry about her.

And yet…

He missed her. He'd actually forgotten how it felt to miss something. But now he was overcome with a pain so strong he thought he was going to be sick. He felt empty, almost paralysed, without her.

Which was ridiculous. For the past year, he'd coped just fine on his own. And here he was, on the verge of an emotional breakdown over a girl he'd known for a matter of weeks.

He found himself reaching for his phone on several occasions, intent on calling or texting her. He even brought her number up on the screen a couple of times but always changed his mind. Honestly, what would he even say to her?

That he was sorry for saying those things about the Lawbreaker? That was a lie. That he missed her? He wasn't even comfortable admitting it to himself, much less her. That he knew he would be a better boyfriend than Justin? She'd never talk to him again.

He looked down at the papers in front of him, boasting the San Francisco Conservatory of Music logo on the top left corner. His hand shook as he filled out the application: writing his address, listing his musical accomplishments, completing the request for a scholarship.

His gaze landed on the final question.

 **Name of audition piece:**

Taking a deep breath, he wrote _Gabriella_ on the dotted line.


	9. Chapter Seven

**A/N: An uber-mega-long chapter! Well, by my standards. But it's worth it. I think you'll like it. Enjoy x**

* * *

Chapter Seven

It was getting ridiculous. Several days had passed since I made the decision to apologise and each time I went to the rooftop, Troy was nowhere to be found. I'd even taken to passing his locker at every opportunity but I couldn't even find him there. It was as if he disappeared as soon as he left a classroom.

I'd resigned to the fact that I wanted to be Troy's friend, no matter his opinion on my relationship. The only problem was that Troy was behaving like a child. And maybe I wasn't legally an adult, but with nine younger siblings to maintain, I knew how to act like one. So, if I had to be the bigger person to be Troy's friend, I would.

However, that was proving to be rather difficult as Troy was getting harder to track down with every passing day. I had thought about texting him, but I never knew what to write and I felt like a coward typing an apology.

When the bell rang for last period, I knew what I had to do. And maybe Mr Miller was right: I had learned a few bad habits from Troy. But I'd also learned some good ones. Since I arrived in Albuquerque, I valued listening more because Troy was so good at it. He didn't force conversation or fill silences with meaningless drivel; everything he said was important.

And in light of his comments about Justin, I had a newfound respect for honesty. I knew honesty was important but Troy wasn't afraid of being honest, even if that person didn't want to hear it. And I liked it.

I stopped by my locker to grab my backpack when Sharpay approached, frowning at me.

"Where are you going?"

I debated whether to put my new respect for honesty to the test. "The bathroom."

I knew she didn't believe me but I didn't have time to put on an Oscar-worthy performance.

I snuck past reception and made my way to the student parking lot. I approached Troy's bike and leaned against it, breathing a sigh of relief.

I loved that bike. Really. That one ride had become one of my favourite memories. Whilst I was constantly wading through stress and worry, that fifteen minute ride had given me some freedom. I knew Troy drove too fast and I'm sure he ran a stop sign or two. But I felt safe with him.

And of course, that bike now meant that Troy could no longer avoid me. If he wanted to get home, he'd have to talk to me.

I spent the hour reading my chemistry textbook, not willing to completely skip my final class.

"Gabriella."

I looked up to see Troy standing a few feet away and my god. He stood with his jacket in one hand, his helmet in the other and his backpack hanging from his shoulder. With the sun shining on him, I could see a few pectoral muscles beneath his white tee, his sandy hair almost pure blonde in the light. I didn't think I would ever find my voice again. Was it honestly possible he'd got even sexier since we last talked?

Maybe not entirely appropriate thoughts for a girl with a boyfriend but I couldn't deny what was right in front of me.

Seeing Troy in that moment, he could've been a womaniser: intent on stringing a girl along, fucking her once or twice, and then he'd leave. But as I stepped away from the bike, he looked like a little boy being told off, barely able to look me in the eye.

I threw my chemistry book into my bag. "Troy," I whispered, overcome with relief that he'd actually talked to me.

"Why weren't you in chemistry?" he asked.

I shrugged, gesturing to his bike. "Waiting for you. I know you've been avoiding me, and you have every right to hate me, but I want to tell you that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that way and I definitely shouldn't have ignored you these past few days."

"Gabriella-"

I held a hand up to cut him off. "It's just that me and Justin… I mean, I…"

I slowly looked down at my shoes, not quite able to finish either of those sentences. How could I get Troy to understand what Justin meant to me? What did he mean to me? After all these weeks apart, I knew I wasn't quite the same girl I used to be in Midland and I didn't think Justin was the same guy either. So what did that mean for our relationship?

"Gabriella," Troy said more firmly, gripping my shoulder.

I looked up at him and _really_ looked at him. He was so closed and shut down every day and there were times when I was unsure whether he even wanted me around. But in that moment, he just looked like he needed a friend.

"You don't have to justify your relationship," he said quietly.

He let go of my shoulder and stepped closer to his bike. He put his bag and helmet on the ground to shrug on his jacket, leaning against the motorcycle.

"I stand by what I said, but I'm sorry for the way I said it," he continued, not quite meeting my eye.

The parking lot was a hive of activity now that school was over for another day. Friends were laughing, car horns were blaring, and a senior couple were having a fight just a few feet away. But, above the noise, I heard Troy loud and clear.

I stepped closer to him and looked into his blue eyes, something bursting in my stomach. Nerves? Fear? Excitement? I couldn't tell. I'd never felt anything like it before and I wanted it to stop.

I took a deep breath and said, "Is it okay if we're friends again?"

For a moment, I didn't think he was going to say anything, that he was going to get on his bike and ride away from me.

But then his mouth flickered up into a small smile and his eyes lit up brighter than I'd ever seen them. Despite every reason I had to not be smiling, the quiet happiness in Troy's face made me smile back.

"I'd like that," he said.

"Gabi," a voice called.

I turned to see Nate and Tommy walking out of the front entrance together. Nate gestured to the area of the lot where we'd parked our truck.

I shook my head and waved a hand in Troy's direction. "I'll see you at home," I called. I turned back to Troy to see him smirking in amusement and I felt blood rush to my cheeks. I kicked his boot. "Shut up."

He chuckled. I mean, he actually laughed. Thinking back, I'd never really heard his laugh before.

"Do you want to hang out? Now?" I asked.

He didn't say anything as he handed his helmet to me and stowed his backpack in the storage compartment. He mounted the bike as easily as he'd played the piano at my house, an action he'd done so often it was now second nature. I pulled on the helmet and straddled the bike behind him as he revved the engine, my heart racing in anticipation.

"Where are we going? I still don't know the city that well," I said over the hum of the engine. I wrapped my arms around his waist, the strange feeling in my stomach getting stronger.

He looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. It was so rare to see his smile that I was rendered speechless by how beautiful he was. Up close, his sexy abs and hot body fell away until his goddamn smile was the only thing left.

"We're not going to the city. But I think you'll like it."

Without another word, he kicked up the stand and maneuvered the bike out of the parking lot and out onto the main street. Just as before, he picked up speed, swerving between cars and trucks and even running a few red lights. I knew he could get into trouble. Hell, he could get killed without his helmet. But my hair whipped against my shoulders, the wind whistled in my ears, the adrenaline burned my veins and none of that mattered. All that mattered was me and Troy. Together.

I marvelled at his relaxed body, at the fluid motions of his hands, at the way he seemed to know exactly what other drivers were going to do before they did. And I suddenly understood. It hit me like a ton of bricks and the wind was knocked out of me, although it had nothing to do with the way Troy took a sharp corner.

Because Troy knew that nothing bad was going to happen on that corner. I was scared as we leaned to the right, convinced we were going to lose our balance and hit the ground. But he knew we wouldn't because he was in control. That was why he didn't care whether he wore a helmet or not. He was in control and that was enough comfort for him.

I didn't know what was going on in his life, but I knew one thing: he didn't have much control other than on his motorbike.

Troy slowed the bike as rode down a narrow lane with hedges each side of the track. He pulled up on the shore of a lake and kicked the stand down as he killed the engine.

I slowly climbed off the bike, setting my helmet on the ground, and I stepped closer to the water. I gazed up at the New Mexico mountains towering over us and I forgot about all the shit waiting for me at home.

Troy appeared beside me. "You okay?"

 _No._

I nodded and smiled across at him. "You know, ever since we moved here, I just wanted to move back home. But there's one thing New Mexico does better than Indiana. Your mountains. You don't get views like this in Midland."

Troy was giving me a look I couldn't quite decipher. "Will you ever go back?"

Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it. I had my plans for college but they weren't in Indiana and I didn't think too far past my college graduation.

I looked down at my feet, kicking the sand and pebbles. "No." I surprised even myself with the surety of the word. "I mean, I miss Midland but no, I'm not going back." I lifted my head to meet Troy's eyes.

I could sense that he wanted to ask about Justin, but I was grateful that he didn't because I didn't have the answers. I just knew my life was no longer in Indiana.

"Good for you," he said eventually.

I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You know what you want."

Yes, I did know what I wanted.

"Would you like to go swimming?" he asked out of nowhere.

I looked down at my jeans, Converse, and Indiana Fever basketball t shirt, wondering what he was thinking. "I don't have a swim suit."

He shrugged off his jacket and threw it carelessly onto a nearby fallen tree that had evidently been there for years. "Neither do I."

I tried to figure out what that meant. I could easily imagine a player using that exact line to get into a girl's panties. But Troy didn't seem to be the kind of guy to use lines like that. Or lines at all.

I tilted my head, watching the way he slipped off his shoes and peeled off his socks; he moved with the practiced ease of someone who had stripped in that very spot a thousand times before. He reached for the hem of his shirt and I had to look away, the feeling in my stomach pulsing.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" I whispered.

I lifted my head to see him push his jeans to the floor, revealing a pair of Batman boxers. Before I could make a joke about it, he said, "I didn't think you were the kind of girl who could be seduced."

I wanted to tell him that, in all honesty, I didn't know what kind of girl I was. But he was already walking towards the lake. His skin was almost golden in the warm afternoon sun and his defined eagle wings promised strength and power he hadn't yet shown me.

He waded into the water up to his knees and then lay down, floating in the shallow water. Not quite what I imagined when he asked if I wanted to swim.

I dropped my bag by the tree and dug my phone from my jeans pocket. I opened a text from Justin:

 _WUU2?_

Give me a break. I rolled my eyes and buried my phone deep in my bag, trying to quash the guilt that rose in my throat like bile. But it wasn't a big deal. I was just hanging out with a friend. I didn't have to tell Justin.

I continued to chant this to myself as I pulled my shoes and socks off, my gaze locked on Troy's floating figure. I stripped down to my underwear, realising too late that I was wearing my no-one-will-see-this underwear. My bra used to be white but was now grey with a large black ink stain on the left cup and my panties had loose elastic and pulled threads. Sexy as hell.

And then I realised: it didn't matter because I wasn't supposed to be sexy for Troy.

I made my way into the lake and lay down next to him, allowing the warm water to soothe all of my nerves and uncertainty.

"Thanks for joining me," he whispered.

We floated in the water for a while, not saying a thing and I spent the time trying to piece this version of Troy with the pianist Troy and the bad boy biker Troy. I couldn't understand him. I'd never met anybody like him. The guys in Midland were simple, Justin included. They knew exactly who they were. Troy, on the other hand, either didn't know who he was or he was a lot more complicated than I was used to.

I didn't know how much time had passed when he suggested we got out of the water. We didn't talk while we walked towards the bike. Instead, we occupied ourselves by getting excess water from our hair.

Troy opened the storage compartment on the bike and handed me a towel. I hesitantly ran it over my hair, arms, legs and handed it back to him. I sat down on the tree while he dried himself off, somehow knowing we weren't heading straight home. He lay the towel out on the sand to dry and sat next to me, leaving a gap between us.

"You don't seem like the kind of guy who floats in a lake in his spare time."

He nudged my arm. "God Gabriella, I don't strike you as a pianist, now I'm not the type to float in water. What do I strike you as?"

I looked up at him. That was maybe the most he'd ever said to me in one go and I was taken aback. "Well, on my first day, I thought you were a giant jackass."

"That's okay. I thought you were a pretentious know-it-all," he said with a grin.

Something had changed in him between our fight and my apology. I'd never seen him smile or heard him talk this much. I liked it but I couldn't help but wonder what had caused such a shift in character. He was still quiet and complicated but he seemed more content.

I laughed, looking down at my feet, burying my toes in the sand. It was then that I noticed it on Troy's left knee: a long, thin dark scar running over his kneecap, a lot neater than the short jagged scar on the side of my right one.

I nudged his leg, gesturing to his scar. "Twins," I murmured.

He frowned and a shadow seemed to pass across his face. I instantly regretted bringing it up. Whatever caused that scar evidently wasn't pleasant.

"Has anybody told you anything about me?"

I thought about Taylor's warning, but I didn't think that's what he meant. I shook my head.

"Well, a year ago, I was the first sophomore ever to make the starting varsity basketball team. Everyone assumed I'd make captain this year."

Yet another side of Troy I didn't know how to process.

"But I went out to the park with guys one Saturday and we bumped into some Knights. You know about the rivalry?"

I nodded. Both Chad and Taylor had explained the rivalry between East High and West High in every sport: wrestling, basketball, even the scholastic decathlon.

He rolled his eyes, looking back out to the mountains in the distance. "We were stupid and got into a fight and I fell and damaged my knee. I still don't fully understand what went wrong but one moment I was standing, the next I couldn't stand up. Something to do with nerves and tendons. I don't know."

He ran his fingers through his damp hair. "The doctors said that the intensity of basketball practice meant that I was risking paralysis in my left leg. So I gave it all up, much to my dad's dismay. You know, coach first, father second." According to my dad, Troy's father was the basketball coach at U of A.

I watched him talk; he seemed to brush the story off like it wasn't a big deal. But his dark eyes betrayed the pain he felt.

"That sucks," I said eventually, repeating what he'd said about Sammy's autism.

He nodded. "Well, shit happens."

"It does," I agreed.

I realised in that moment that if I was going to tell anybody at East High why we moved to Albuquerque, I was going to tell him. He would understand.

I opened my mouth but he said, "That's when I turned to the piano. I mean, I've been playing since I was ten. But when I didn't have basketball, I appreciated music so much more. I had more patience for the piano, I guess."

I tried to imagine having part of me stripped away until I no longer knew who I was, but I couldn't. Not quite.

"Is this why you're not friends with Chad and the other guys anymore?" I asked, shuffling a bit closer to him. I ignored the fact that we were only wearing our underwear; I was just comforting a friend.

He nodded, nudging some sand with his toes. "It wasn't them. It's just that they carried on playing, and rightly so. I didn't expect them to stop because of me. But I didn't expect it to hurt so much. So, I stopped hanging out with them. It's easier that way."

"Was that when people started calling you Bolton instead of Troy?"

He shrugged. "I got lazy, I guess. I was late to class, didn't do homework. Because I just want to play the piano all the time."

I stared down at his scar, trying to picture Troy on a basketball court, wearing school colours instead of black and white. But I couldn't. I couldn't even see him eating lunch in the cafeteria, much less being a popular jock.

"For the record," I began, looking into his eyes, "I prefer this Troy Bolton to a basketball jock."

He frowned. "But you never met basketball me."

"Don't have to. This Troy, the way you played the piano at my house, the way you know what you believe, you're the best Troy you've ever been," I said quietly.

He stared at me for a long time and I could swear he was on the verge of tears. It occurred to me that he probably wasn't used to people telling him was was going to be okay without basketball.

I averted my gaze and gestured to my own scar. "I'm afraid my story isn't quite so dramatic."

I heard him breathe out and felt him relax. I wondered how often he'd talked about this. Or if he'd talked about it at all.

"It was three years ago. Teddy would have been about six at the time and I'm in the shower, shaving my legs, minding my own business. He bursts into the bathroom to show me the biggest spider I've ever seen in my entire life. I jumped, the razor slipped and before I knew it, the shower looked like a scene from _Saw_ ," I exclaimed, running my thumb over the jagged patch of dark skin.

"My god. Don't you lock the bathroom?" he asked.

"Seriously? That's your question? Well, it's my mom's number one rule. She says that if we're sick or whatever, she needs to be able to get to us. It just so happens that Teddy forgot Mom's second rule: knock."

Troy burst out laughing but it died off when our eyes met. We were in our underwear, we were still damp from the lake, there was a text from Justin waiting for me, and I had to get home for Eddie's and Sammy's yoga session. But in that moment, there was me and there was Troy and nothing else. Not my mom, not Troy's dad, not college. Nothing.

He shuffled closer until our hips touched and I heard his breaths, quiet and shallow. "Gabriella, I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do."

He leaned closer and I closed my eyes, accepting Troy's kiss. He was slow and hesitant, taking his time and clearly unsure how I was going to react. But I liked it. I liked the way he tasted faintly of soda, the way I could feel some stubble brush against my chin, the way the kiss was all about me. He didn't even touch me with his hands. In some ways, I felt like this was my first ever kiss all over again.

But it wasn't awkward. At least, not for me. In fact, I hadn't felt quite so relaxed in a long time.

He pulled back and twisted his head to look out at the lake, obviously avoiding me.

"Troy," I whispered, although he wouldn't look at me. "You don't have to apologise because I just kissed you back."

I gently turned his head, embarrassment written all over his face. I gazed into his eyes, hating the thought of him ever feeling alone, not enough, a disappointment. Because he wasn't. In fact, after hearing his story and hearing his laugh, he was pretty damn amazing.

I leaned forward and kissed him again. He was frozen for a moment but then he relaxed, kissing me back just as softly.

I rested my hand on his scarred knee and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. And I had never felt so safe.


	10. Chapter Eight

**A/N: I know it's not that long but it needs to be here. The next chapter will be better, I promise :) Enjoy x**

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Chapter Eight

 _Why the fuck did I kiss her?_

Well, he knew exactly why he'd kissed her: she talked and she listened and she made him feel. At the lake, he felt hurt and upset and happy and wanted and everything in between. He'd spent the best part of the year pushing everything away and she just made him feel _everything_ , seemingly without doing anything at all.

And, of course, even in that stained bra and old panties, she was by far the sexiest girl at East High. What's more, she knew she was attractive but she didn't flaunt it. Her daily yoga sessions gave her toned legs and a slim waist, her tanned skin shimmered in the afternoon sun, and she hid it all beneath jeans and t shirts.

Troy turned the volume of his iPod up a little bit more, allowing Joplin's _The Entertainer_ to deafen him. It was the first full length piece he ever learned and honestly? He hated it. It was chirpy and cheesy and too repetitive. But it comforted him.

Gabriella was going to hate him. He just knew it.

The ride back to her house had been silent and awkward. Her hands on his stomach, her breath on his neck, her chest pressed against his back. He could barely concentrate on the road. At her house, she promised to meet him for free period the following day and even kissed his cheek. She didn't show signs of hating him but how else would she react?

God, what was she doing to him?

When was the last time he kissed a girl? A few months ago on his date with Amanda Shepherd. She was cute and sweet but he didn't feel anything when he was with her, so there was no second date.

However, Gabriella made him feel everything.

He glanced at the clock on his phone. 2:34AM.

He took off his headphones and headed down to the kitchen. He poured some milk and warmed it in the microwave.

Overhead, the light suddenly burst to life, casting shadows around him. He turned to find his mother standing in the doorway, a robe wrapped around her body. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the microwave as it beeped.

"Troy are you okay?"

He didn't turn to her but nodded.

He heard her step closer and felt her place her hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about anything?"

 _Yes, I want to talk about the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, I want to talk about who I am without basketball. Hell, I want to talk about Gabriella Montez._

"No," he mumbled, taking his warm milk back to his room.

The following day at school, Troy wanted to scream. For everybody else, it was a normal day; nothing had changed. But for him, everything was different. How could they not see that he had kissed an amazing girl last night?

He braced himself for the onslaught of Gabriella's anger, but nothing happened. She waved to him as she walked into school with Noah, she smiled at him in homeroom, and she even defended him when Mr Miller yelled at him for being late again.

She didn't seem like she would cheat on the Lawbreaker, but she also didn't seem like the type to lead him on. So where did that leave him?

He wondered if she'd told the Lawbreaker yet. Or anybody else for that matter. Probably not.

It was almost free period and Troy was honestly terrified. This would tell him exactly what Gabriella thought of him. She would either say that she'd broken up with the Lawbreaker or that she only saw Troy as a friend. If she showed up at all. And if she didn't go to the rooftop, her absence would speak for itself.

After math, he went to the bathroom on his way to the rooftop, the fear in his stomach almost paralysing him. He was washing his hands when the door opened and Zeke walked in, a bright smile spreading over his face.

"Hey, Troy. How have you been?" he asked quietly.

Troy dried his hands on a bunch of paper towels and shrugged. "I'm okay. I'm fine. Gabriella told me you're with Sharpay now?"

The African-American shuffled his shoes. "Yeah. About four months now."

"So all those cookies actually worked?" Troy exclaimed, unable to hide his shock. Zeke had been in love with Sharpay since freshman year and had baked her 'Sharpay Cookies' everyday in an attempt to woo her.

Zeke laughed and shook his head. "Actually, she told me on our one month anniversary that she hates cookies. She only ate them because she liked me so much."

Troy was happy for Zeke but he was only reminded of how much he missed his friends.

"Listen, we understand why you don't want to hang out with us. But if you ever want to have lunch with us or play some video games, we'd really like that," Zeke said quietly.

"Thanks, but I have to go," he said, suddenly feeling claustrophobic.

Without waiting for a response, he left the bathroom and headed up to the rooftop. He paused at the bottom of the staircase, leaning against the wall. The melodious sounds of Gabriella's violin floated down to him and he was overcome with memories of the previous day. She listened to him like he was the most important person in the world and she was the only person to tell him he was a better person without basketball. And when she kissed him back, he knew everything would be okay. Even if she didn't want to be friends anymore.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly climbed the stairs. When he emerged onto the roof, he was welcomed by the fresh Albuquerque air, the mountains rising up on the horizon, and the view of Gabriella sitting on the bench. In the natural light, he could see some dark red in her raven hair; she must have dyed it last night. Her violin was tucked under her chin and she moved the bow across the strings seemingly on instinct. Her eyes were closed and she looked completely at ease with her instrument.

For a moment, he just watched her play. He didn't want to disturb her and he didn't know what to say.

But eventually, he cleared his throat, breaking her from her peace.

She pulled the bow away and lowered the violin to her lap. "Oh, Troy, thank god you're here. I need your help."

He stayed where he was, still waiting for her to lash out in anger.

Instead, she put her violin back in its case and brought out a notebook. "What scenes were we supposed to read for drama? I forgot to write it down."

That made him step forward and sit next to her. Why wasn't she talking about what happened? Wasn't that what girls wanted? To talk? The last girl he went on a date with deemed him 'emotionally unavailable' because he wouldn't talk about his accident.

Deciding that avoiding the topic was better than Gabriella yelling at him, he said, "Act two, scenes four to seven. But Ms Darbus said there's extra credit if you can compare it to _Cat On A Hot Tin Roof_."

She nodded, scribbling something in her notebook. "Thank you."

He occupied himself by digging out his composition notebook, intent on working on the audition piece he had mere months to finish. Assuming he would be invited for an audition. He dropped his bag to the floor and reread what he had so far. There were several inches between him and Gabriella and yet he could feel her body heat, hear her breaths. Hell, he could still feel her lips on his own. Overwhelmed by these feelings, he added a few more notes.

Bizarrely, it seemed like the more he felt for Gabriella, the better he could write his music.


	11. Chapter Nine

**A/N: Please enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter Nine

Three years ago, Maddie moved to the other side of the country to study pre-med at the University of Albuquerque. But for a fourteen year old girl left with ten siblings to manage, it might as well have been the other side of the world. I mean, we Skyped and texted, but it just wasn't the same.

So when Mom and Dad told us we were moving to New Mexico, we were all excited to be close to Maddie once again. However, Mom made us promise that we were not, under any circumstances, to disturb, annoy, or pester her, unless we had organised plans or there was an emergency. Alongside her intense classes, she had a job at a local restaurant, a voluntary placement in the cardiology unit at Albuquerque General Infirmary, bills to pay, and her own apartment to maintain. Suffice to say she didn't have much free time.

But, with Troy barely speaking to me and me barely speaking to Justin, I knew I needed to see her. I knew she had her own life, but sometimes a girl just needs her sister.

I pressed the intercom on her apartment building, looking down the street at all the other identical apartment buildings.

It was early Sunday morning and I'd grabbed the keys for the truck before any of my brothers could tell me they needed the car more than me. It was warm and bright and promised to be a beautiful day.

You know, if you hadn't just kissed another guy behind your boyfriend's back.

" _Hello?_ " Maddie's muffled voice came through the intercom, sounding tired.

"Hey, it's Gabi. Can I come up?"

" _Of course,_ " she said and the buzzer sounded, opening the door.

I climbed the stairs to her apartment in time for her to open the door.

I almost burst into tears when I saw her, wrapped in her robe with her blonde hair pulled back into a bun. With four years between us, she'd always looked so glamorous and grown up. Now that I was seventeen, I knew that Jo saw me as glamorous and grown up, too. But seeing Maddie in the doorway of her own apartment, she just seemed so _adult_. Like she wasn't just my sister anymore but someone better.

She brought me into a hug. "Oh, Gabi, it's so good to see you. Come in, come in. Let me see you." She shut the door and looked me up and down. "You're going red now? When will you stop dyeing your hair?"

I laughed, feeling better than I had in quite a few days. "If I get into Harvard law school."

"When," she corrected quietly. "So, what brings you here? I thought I would've seen you a lot more since you moved here."

I shrugged. "Mom made us promise not to bother you. But I need your help."

She paused for a moment, giving me a weird look. "Okay. Well, would you like some tea? Coffee? I also have beer because I can legally drink now."

There's my sister I know and love.

"Coffee would be great, thanks," I mumbled as I sat down on her battered leather sofa that had clearly had several owners before her. Her apartment was small, filled with furniture and decorations from thrift stores but it was all so perfectly Maddie.

She joined me on the couch and handed me a cup. "I'm not sure when you started drinking coffee but I guess you like it black?"

"Find me a Montez that doesn't," I joked, taking a sip. I gestured to her robe. "Lazy day?"

She nodded slowly. "Something like that. So, what do you need my help with?"

I couldn't look her in the eye. "I did a bad thing."

"Is anybody dead?"

"What?"

"Did you murder somebody?" she asked. I assumed she was kidding but there was a serious look in her eye.

"No," I muttered, taking a sip of my coffee. "I kissed someone."

"I'm guessing this 'someone' isn't the Lawbreaker?" she asked.

I finally looked at her, trying to gage her reaction. "No."

She quirked an eyebrow and I thought she looked disappointed until she burst out, "My baby sister's all grown up."

I almost spit my coffee out but I managed to keep it down. I placed my cup on the coffee table and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. "What are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes and kicked her feet up onto the coffee table which was piled high with college textbooks. Mom would be horrified if she knew. "Everybody does it. It's okay."

"It doesn't feel okay," I whispered. I felt a tear roll down my cheek and I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes.

"I'm not condoning it, I'm just saying it's not the apocalyptic event you think it is. I've done it. I'm not proud of it, but I've done it. We both know Noah's done it and I'm willing to bet that Mom and Dad did it before they got together," she explained. She spoke softly but it didn't make me feel better. I still felt sick with guilt.

"Do you know why you kissed this guy?"

I nodded slowly, wiping my nose with the sleeve of my t shirt. "He told me something personal and we were talking and he made me feel good just being with him. And when he kissed me, I kissed him back."

Maddie rolled her eyes and sighed. "Not that. The other reason. You probably don't even know it's a reason at all. Do you know why most people kiss someone behind their partner's back?"

I shrugged, not having the energy to think about it.

"Because they're not happy with their current relationship. I'm not saying it's right, far from it. But that's what I've found from my experience." She paused. "I mean, there are dickheads who kiss other people just because they're dickheads. But I know dickheads and my baby sister isn't one of them."

I ran a hand over my face, thinking back through the past several weeks to the last time I felt truly happy and comfortable talking to Justin. It was probably our last day in Midland when he'd come over to say goodbye. He kissed me, promising that we were going to be fine. But we weren't fine and, in retrospect, we were never going to be fine. That goodbye kiss was just that: a goodbye. It wasn't a we'll-make-this-work kiss. Through all the Skype calls and texts, it was all forced because we were expected to try. No wonder I felt awkward talking to him these days.

Justin had been such a huge part of my life for so long that it hadn't occurred to me that I wouldn't see him again. Okay, we were seventeen, but I'd just assumed that we'd be together somehow.

Then I thought of all the snide remarks he made about my family, of all the times he made me feel bad for my family commitments. I thought of how he forgot my birthday and expected me to attend his football games when he never once went to my lacrosse games or scholastic decathlon competitions. And I suddenly knew that we were never supposed to be together forever.

I turned to face Maddie who was watching me curiously. "Okay, so what do I do?"

She shrugged. "What do you want to do?"

I didn't really think about the different options. "I don't want to lie to Justin."

"Okay," she murmured and I knew it was all me from now on.

"Maddie? Thanks," I whispered.

She rolled her eyes. "Please. You didn't have many options at home. Mom doesn't need the worry, Dad and Noah treat our 'girl problems' like a disease, and Jo's too young to understand. Am I right?"

I laughed and nodded.

"You know, you can ask me stuff whenever you want, no matter what Mom said about disturbing me."

I frowned when I heard a quiet thud come from the door on the other side of the lounge. "Maddie, is someone else here?"

She looked like she was going to deny it but eventually nodded. "Come on out, honey."

The door opened and a dark skinned man walked out in just some _Superman_ boxers, looking sheepish. I instantly knew we'd be calling him _Clark Kent_.

He held up his phone. "Sorry, babe. I dropped this."

She gestured to me. "This is Gabriella. Gabi, this is Dan."

I stood and shook Dan's hand. "Great to meet you."

"Maddie's told me so much about you."

I quirked an eyebrow in Maddie's direction. "Really? She's told me nothing about you."

Maddie rolled her eyes and got to her feet, setting her empty cup on the coffee table. "Dan's a psych major at U of A. We've been dating for a couple of months."

I couldn't blame her for not telling us.

"Good for you," I said eventually.

Her face softened. "Are you going to be okay?"

I nodded. "Of course. I think I just feel so bad because here I am complaining about guys and we have more important things to worry about."

"You're seventeen. It's okay to have different priorities. You have the rest of your life to worry about other crap. Trust me."

* * *

I didn't have enough courage to make the phone call until the following day during math. Mr Miller was definitely right: Troy had given me bad habits but I didn't care. I had to do this and if that meant skipping class again, so be it. And for all my nerves, fears, and reservations, it turned out to be one of the easiest things I'd ever done. The words rolled off my tongue like melted butter and I even accepted all of his words for exactly what they were.

I was lying on the wooden bench on the rooftop with my bare feet propped up on the railing. There was a light breeze but the Albuquerque sun was bright and warm. I stared at the roof of the gazebo, wondering how long this would take. I knew it would take a while, but I didn't think it would take this long.

I heard the bell ring for free period and glanced at my watch, wondering how long it would take Troy to get there.

The voice on the phone was unrecognisable but maybe I hadn't recognised him in a long time. I knew he no longer recognized me. And I was okay with that.

I heard a throat clear and twisted my head to see Troy loitering at the top of the stairs, looking uncomfortable. The strange feeling in my stomach that had been there since I apologised woke up more powerful than ever but I welcomed it. I now knew that it was confirmation of what I'd known for a while but was too afraid to admit: I liked Troy. I liked him more than his honesty and his piano and his motorcycle. I liked Troy for Troy. And even if he didn't like me back, I had to tell him.

I sat up and gestured for him to sit next to me. I smiled as I slipped my sneakers back on, wanting this conversation to be over more than I'd ever wanted anything.

I watched Troy out of the corner of my eye as he dug out his music book and began writing as usual. When he paused his scribbling, he bit the end of his pencil. Out of all the sides of Troy I'd seen, it was this one I admired most: his concentration and determination were almost contagious. I wondered if his ex-teammates knew he wrote music. Probably not.

I knew we had to talk about the kiss. It had made things awkward and I couldn't even glance at Troy without wanting to push him into some lockers and make out with him in front of everybody. I pretended to be casual and nonchalant around him but it was getting too hard to keep up the act.

He was tense, shaking his left knee up and down. I reached across and placed my hand on his knee, aware of his scar hidden beneath his jeans. I felt his muscles tense under my touch, but he stopped his compulsive movements.

"That's fine," I mumbled into the phone. "I dropped everything off at the post office this morning. Oh, and don't forget my bobble heads and baseball cards."

" _So you knew we'd break up today,_ " Justin exclaimed.

"Honestly, I didn't see any other outcome," I said.

I could almost see him roll his eyes. " _You know, you're not the Gabriella I remember._ "

I glanced at Troy, rubbing my thumb lightly over where I knew his scar was. "I know I'm not, which is why I'm doing this. I wanted to be honest."

" _Well, I'll be honest with the entire school and tell them exactly what their precious golden girl is really like,_ " he yelled.

"Okay," I said. I didn't care what the students at Sun High thought of me because I knew I wouldn't see them again. Honestly, all I cared about was what Troy thought about me. "Goodbye Justin."

I hung up my phone before he could say anything else and deleted his number. I just had to wait for him to mail my belongings to me and he'd be out of my life forever.

I dropped my phone into my bag and turned my attention completely to Troy. "Hi," I whispered.

He didn't look at me, still focussed completely on his music. "Why weren't you in math?"

"I had to call Justin. His free period is when we have math," I explained.

"Wonderful."

"I broke up with him," I added.

That got his attention. "You what? Gabriella, I never wanted to break up your relationship, I swear. I apologised and-"

"Get over yourself," I interrupted with a laugh. "Do you really think that much of yourself that you're the reason I broke up with the Lawbreaker?"

"Well, I assumed because of last week…" He trailed off and shrugged, not quite meeting my eye.

"Troy, I realised that I enjoy spending time with you more than I enjoyed trying to make my relationship work." I shrugged. "And the more I thought about it, I also realised that me and Justin were broken up the minute I left Indiana. We just didn't want to admit it. And if I didn't break up with him now, I'd just be waiting for him to break up with me."

Troy nodded slowly. "Did you tell him about last week?"

I shuffled a bit closer, my hand still on his knee. "Yeah. He yelled and cussed and called me a few things I will not be telling my future children about."

He let out a barely audible laugh, the corners of his mouth lifting into a small smile.

"He also said that he's going to kill you."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"

"God no. He knows that my brothers would kill him the second he crossed the New Mexico border and my sisters would bring him back to clean up the mess."

"Should I be scared of your brothers and sisters?"

"No. They actually like you," I murmured.

I looked into his eyes, feeling calm like I always did around him.

"Troy, I'm going to do something before I chicken out," I whispered, the feeling in my stomach growing until I drowned in everything Troy was making me feel.

Before he could say anything, I leaned forward and kissed him softly on the mouth. Like our previous kisses, he was tense and hesitant. But then his lips moved against mine and I felt him wrap his arms around me. It all felt so natural that I felt stupid to ever think I was supposed to be with anyone but Troy Bolton.

I couldn't tell how long we kissed like that but eventually, I pulled back for breath and felt the heat rise in my cheeks. His eyes were wide and bright and although he didn't smile, his happiness was evident.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" he whispered.

"If you think I'm asking for twenty dollars, you're barking up the wrong tree," I replied just as quietly.

He pulled back a little but refused to let go of me completely. "Ha ha," he said sarcastically.

"I want to be with you," I admitted. "I've wanted it for a while. I think I knew when you told me you wouldn't make me feel bad about my family commitments. I was just scared."

He finally smiled and chuckled beneath his breath. "Well, I'm scared as hell. But I want to be with you, too."

"Good," I whispered, leaning forward to kiss him again. When we pulled apart, I rested my head on his shoulder.

After a while, I said, "I don't want to tell people just yet."

He pushed me away a little bit and the hurt in his eyes almost made me cry. "What? Why?"

I didn't have to be a mindreader to know he thought I was ashamed or embarrassed by him. And I felt awful to have made him feel that way.

I sighed and reached for his hand. "Troy, I've literally just broken up with my boyfriend and this, now, feels good and right. But I don't want people to see you as a rebound because you're not. And I don't want people to think I'm a slut, either. Can you understand that?"

Eventually, he pulled me close again, running his fingers up and down my bare arm, leaving a trail of heat. "Tell people whenever you're ready. I don't exactly have a lot of people worth telling."

In that moment, things felt right. What I felt for Troy was indescribable. He listened and accepted me without asking me to compromise other parts of my life. I felt like everything would be okay.

After a while, Troy said, "I'm guessing this means that we won't be making out for all of free period?"

I kissed him chastely on the mouth and pulled away, reaching down for my bag. "Not a chance. We have homework."

* * *

"Nathaniel, dinner!" my dad yelled up the stairs for the third time as he sat down at the table.

"Gabi, Gabi, Gabi," Nate said breathlessly as he ran into the dining room and sat down. "Is it true?"

I knew what he was referring to and it had taken a lot longer than I thought it would for someone to find out.

"Is what true, Nate?" I asked calmly as I poured some juice for Benji.

"Your Facebook status says that you're single. Is it true?" He held his phone in his hand, staring at the screen.

"Give me that," Noah exclaimed, prising the device from Nate's grip.

"No phones," Mom scolded. She spoke quietly but it was enough for Nate to put his phone in his pocket.

I rolled my eyes. "It's true."

Rather insultingly, the entire table erupted into cheers. Even the younger kids who didn't really understand seemed happy and my parents couldn't even hide their relief. I frowned when I saw Tommy hand a couple of dollar bills to Nate and Noah gave some to Alex.

"Wait," I interrupted, "did you guys bet on my relationship?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Please. We placed our bets the first time you brought the Lawbreaker home."

I sighed. "Well, I'm glad you're all happy about it."

"Please tell me you broke up with him. I really don't want to have to take a road trip back to Midland just to kick his butt," Noah said, sounding exhausted just from the idea.

I laughed and shook my head. "Don't worry, I broke up with him."

Noah frowned and looked at Nate, Tommy, and Alex. "Do you guys fancy going to Midland anyway?"

"No one is going back to Midland," Dad exclaimed, but I guessed that he'd drive my brothers to Indiana himself if he had the time.

"So, what made you finally see sense?" Tommy asked.

"Thomas, that's none of our business," Mom scolded.

I glanced at Dad and then at Mom. "Well, not that it's any of your business, but me and the Lawbreaker were broken up the second we left Indiana. I just didn't know it until now."

The table degenerated into chatter about trivial things: school, soccer games, TV. For the first time in a long time, everyone seemed happy, or at least relaxed. We still had reasons to be tense and worried, but it was like the Lawbreaker had always added unnecessary tension. I wondered how they would react when I told them about Troy. Sure, they liked him more than they'd ever liked the Lawbreaker, yet I knew that could change if they knew we were dating.

But for now, I would keep Troy to myself and let everybody be happy.


	12. Chapter Ten

**A/N: Enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter Ten

At breakfast, Troy's mother was talking about a premature baby she'd helped deliver the previous day. He hated it when his mom talked about her work but it was better than her talking about the U of A business school. Still, he wasn't listening because all he could think about was Gabriella.

It had only been a few days since she had broken up with the Lawbreaker, but Troy's life was already better and brighter. Honestly, not much had changed: they still met every free period and they'd been back to the lake to go swimming again. But now, Gabriella usually made an excuse to visit him at his locker before homeroom and she texted him constantly while she had lunch with Chad and the others.

More importantly, he knew now that he had somebody who liked him for exactly who he was supposed to be. He knew she wouldn't care whether he wanted to go to U of A, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music or even clown college.

And, you know, being able to make out with her wasn't exactly a bad thing.

He prodded his soggy cereal and couldn't help the smile pull at his lips. He was happy. He still had to deal with his shit, but for the first time in a year, he felt like he could deal with it.

"Troy?"

He pushed his bowl away and quirked an eyebrow at Katie, his sister. "Squirt?"

She rolled her eyes. "Why are you so happy today?"

He knew his life was at a low point when his little sister was questioning his happiness. He glanced at his mother and father. Of course they had noticed his smile but he was grateful that they hadn't brought it up. "No reason."

He cleared his crockery away and left the house without another word. It was now his routine to leave the house ridiculously early, drive straight to East High, and head to the auditorium before homeroom. He settled at the piano, welcoming the quiet. He perched his music book on the ledge, tucked his pencil behind his ear and pressed a few keys.

He smiled as his hands moved across the ivory, hearing Gabriella's laugh in the music that echoed around him. He'd started writing the piece months before he even knew Gabriella existed, but now he knew the song was all about her. It still wasn't finished but he had plenty of time before he had to attend his audition. On the assumption that he'd be invited for an audition.

"Mr Bolton?"

His hands froze, allowing the notes to echo around the empty auditorium. Because it _was_ empty. Right?

He slowly turned to see Ms Darbus, the drama teacher, walking down the aisle towards the stage.

He took his hands away from the keys and shut the piano lid. "Uh, Ms Darbus, what are you doing here?"

She folded her arms. "The spring musicale auditions are today. I have to make some last minute preparations. What are you doing here?"

Bizarrely, Ms Darbus had always been one of Troy's favourite teachers. Although he'd never particularly liked drama, Ms Darbus had a passion for her job and he admired that. She wasn't the most patient teacher in school but when her students showed commitment, she supported them to the end. It was for this reason that she had convinced Troy to play the piano in a couple of talent shows before his accident.

He gestured to the piano. "Baking cookies?"

Ms Darbus cracked a smile, the only teacher to not complain about his sarcasm. "I didn't think you played since your accident."

He couldn't quite look at her. "Ironically, I play more than I used to."

"Good. Do you think you'll enroll back into music class next year?"

Next year. He was just trying to get through the next day.

"I don't know."

Ms Darbus seemed to consider that. "You seem very comfortable up there."

"I don't feel it."

"I assumed as much. To feel scared but to look so natural is the sign of a true artist."

He packed his music book into his bag and jumped down from the stage. He opened his mouth to say something but she beat him to it.

"I don't know what your plans are. Actually, I wouldn't blame you if you don't have any plans at all. But I hope you don't stop playing. Ever."

He looked at his shoes, not quite able to accept what she was saying. "I hope the auditions go well."

"Mr Bolton, I understand why you play by yourself these days. But I hope you'll reconsider music class."

He thought about Ms Darbus' words throughout his classes. He missed music class, learning new arrangements and discovering new composers. But after he damaged his knee, he dropped out of music class, choosing instead to play on his own and focus on composing. He just needed to be by himself for a while.

Or at least, he thought he wanted to be by himself. Now that he had Gabriella, he knew he'd been wrong.

He smiled when he stepped onto the rooftop to find Gabriella already there, her nose buried in a history textbook. When he sat down, she automatically turned to welcome him with a kiss.

"No violin?"

"Not when I have a history paper due in a week and I haven't even finished my research," she mumbled.

He rolled his eyes. He'd grown accustomed to Gabriella underestimating her intelligence, always being nervous before a test and doubting the effort she'd put into her homework. "Because you didn't just correct our history teacher on the dates of the French revolution."

"Our history teacher looks like she's lived through history. She should at least _know_ it," she snapped.

"Calm down, Ella. You'll be fine. You're smartest person in our class," he said as he rummaged in his backpack for his music book.

"What did you just call me?"

He froze, bent over, hand in his bag, his fingers curling into a fist. He hadn't even realised he'd shortened her name. He knew other people called her Gabi but he'd only ever called her Gabriella. He suddenly felt sick, certain that she hated the nickname.

He straightened up, forgetting about his music book, and looked at Gabriella. She was still hunched over her textbook, her brown eyes moving across the page. Her tan skin glowed in the warm sunlight and her hair was pulled back in a messy bun. She didn't look like she'd even uttered a word but she had never looked more beautiful.

"Ella?" he said as more of a question.

She lifted her head and her face brightened as she smiled at him. "I like it."

He released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Oh, well, good. Hey, um, while you're taking a break from the French revolution, do you have any plans on Saturday?"

"Just work."

 _Work_. He was dating a girl with a job. A girl who was actively doing something outside of her family and school. A girl who was doing something worth mentioning on college applications. He'd sent off his application for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music but it had looked rather bare.

"You have a job?"

"You know _The Hourglass_ on Lincoln Street?"

"That fancy-ass restaurant?" he asked, not quite believing that she worked at such a high profile place.

"You mean the fancy ass, dick, and tits restaurant." She shrugged when she saw is shocked expression. "It's not the most dignified job but you know, money for college."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Um, what time do you finish?"

"Four thirty. But I have to go home, shower and do-"

"-yoga with Eddie and Sammy," he finished with a smile. "I know. But would you like to go out? On a date?"

She kissed him and smiled when she pulled away. "I'd love to."

"I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Perfect."

* * *

Alex, Gabriella's only biological sibling, opened the door. According to Gabriella, he was fourteen years old, a writer, and a kickass soccer player. And judging from the glare gracing the Latino's face, Troy knew he didn't stand a chance of living if he broke Gabriella's heart.

"It's been a while, Leatherman," he said eventually.

Troy shrugged. "I've been busy. Is Gabriella ready?"

"For what?"

"Alexander," a voice scolded.

Troy averted his gaze to see Gabriella's mother, Maria, walking slowly towards them. When she got to the door, she rested a hand on the wall, evidently short of breath. Alex wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her balance; gone was the protective brother and now he was just a concerned son.

"What have I told you about scaring your sisters' friends?" Maria snapped.

Alex frowned. "Mom, you should be resting."

"I'm still your mother," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, Troy. Please excuse my son."

He laughed. "It's okay, Mrs Montez. Are you okay?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not you, too. I'm fine. I'm going to go and sit down. Alex, tell your sister Troy's here."

"But Mom-" Alex started as she turned around and walked slowly down the hall.

"Now." It was no more than a whisper but it was enough for Alex to run up the stairs towards Gabriella's bedroom.

While Troy waited for Gabriella, he stepped inside the hall and gazed at all the pictures which turned the humble hallway into an esteemed portrait gallery. From floor to ceiling, the walls were filled with pictures: professional school portraits, blurry graduation pictures, and a few crowded selfies. There were different skin colours, various hairstyles, and a few questionable outfits. But there were plenty of smiles. Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he took a picture with his family. Not even when they'd gone to Hawaii on vacation over the summer.

He admired Gabriella's love for her family. But it was just a little alien to him.

"Are you kidding me? Alex, I swear to god, when I get home I will tear up all your precious little notebooks," Gabriella hissed as she followed her younger brother down the stairs. The humour in her eyes contradicted the anger in her voice.

"Besides," she continued when they reached the bottom step, "I thought you liked Troy?"

Alex glanced at Troy and sighed as if it exhausted him. "I don't want him to know that. Remember, Leatherman: her curfew is eleven."

"Twelve," she corrected as she ushered Troy out of the house and shut the door. "I am so sorry. He thinks he's being all alpha male but I swear, he's only recently started looking girls in the eye."

He laughed and nodded. "I figured as much. I didn't want to say back there but you look great."

He silently handed her his helmet when they approached his bike and he watched her pull it on, admiring her outfit. He'd promised that he hadn't planned anything fancy and she had dressed exactly as he'd imagined she would: white Converse sneakers, faded blue jeans, an Emilie Autumn t shirt and a battered blue bag was strapped across her body. Far sexier than the skin tight skirts and dresses he'd seen other girls wear.

"I'm glad you think so," she murmured as she straddled the bike behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. As usual, her hands pressed into his stomach and she rested her chin on his shoulder, but she molded into his body more, clearly more at ease with him.

He turned the key in the ignition and kicked the stand up, pushing the bike off down the street. He didn't have a helmet and he was driving way too fast but he didn't care. Gabriella loved their bike rides together and that was all that mattered. He loved to hear her laugh and shriek with excitement.

Usually, he rode with a helmet to satisfy his mother's concerns; his bike was just another thing that made him a disappointment in her eyes. But he was willing to do just about anything for Gabriella.

He pulled up at the shore of the lake and felt her kiss his cheek.

"I should've known," she whispered as she dismounted the bike.

He killed the engine, watching her take off the helmet and shake out her raven hair, the red tones deeper than they'd been a few days ago. He climbed off the bike and stepped towards her, reaching for her hand. "It's more beautiful at night, don't you think?"

She squeezed his hand but otherwise stayed silent.

"I brought some food but, before we eat, would you like to go for a swim?"

She shook her head, still looking out at the lake and the mountains. "I can't tonight. But you can go ahead."

"I'm not going to leave you on our first date," he muttered. "But why can't you swim tonight?"

She turned to look at him and quirked her eyebrow.

Realisation passed over his face and he couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her nose into his shoulder in embarrassment. "It's not you. It's called being a girl." She lifted her head to look up at him, a soft blush gracing her cheeks. "How about that food?"

He opened the storage compartment on the bike and lay down a blanket, gesturing that she should sit. He brought out several tupperware containers, two red solo cups, and a bottle of sparkling fruit juice. He sat down next to her and poured her a glass of juice. "I may have a school record longer than _War And Peace_ but I don't break the law. Mostly. No alcohol."

She smiled as she sipped her drink. "I'm impressed. Most guys I've met take every opportunity to drink."

He sipped his own drink. "I'm not most guys."

He felt her eyes on him as he opened the containers, revealing some cold pepperoni pizza, pasta salad, sandwiches, chips, and some chocolate chip cookies. He held out some plastic crockery and a napkin for her.

"This is amazing," she said after a few moments of silence.

He put a piece of pizza on her plate and picked up a piece for himself. "It's just some pizza and leftover pasta salad. It's not exactly _The Hourglass_ gourmet."

"Troy," she whispered, gaining his attention, "I meant being here with you. No one's ever… I mean, Justin never…"

"Never what?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Never wanted to just be with me. He always wanted a restaurant or a party. I like just being with you."

"Well, I like being with you, too."

They talked quietly while they ate, mostly about Gabriella's work at the restaurant. She explained that her parents taught all of them about financial responsibility from a young age and encouraged their children to find part time jobs when they turned sixteen. It was by no means compulsory and it wasn't allowed to interfere with their schoolwork. But her parents wanted them to learn responsibility before they went out into the world on their own where it wasn't so easy to fix mistakes.

Troy didn't say much, choosing instead to listen to the quiet melodies of Gabriella's voice. He admired the love in her voice when she talked about her family, the light in her eyes when she mentioned her parents. Sitting there together, he knew she could tell him the weather forecast and he'd still hang on her every word.

After they finished the pizza and salad, they lay down on the blanket and Gabriella rested her head on his chest, looking up at the stars. Every so often, he would pass her a cookie and she would eat it quietly.

"Can I clarify: your curfew is at twelve, right? I don't want to get you in trouble."

She laughed and twisted her head to look at his face. "I promise it's twelve. Alex, the little brat, was just winding you up."

He folded his arms behind his head. "Break something down for me: twelve kids?"

She laughed again. "It's mad, even to my own ears. I told you that my mom and dad are from El Salvador. Well, they met in college and got married and knew they both wanted a big family. But they wanted better opportunities for us, I guess. Better colleges, better economy, better jobs. And I know what you're thinking: America was the best option?"

He smiled to himself and blindly found her hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Well, for my parents, it was. And more or less as soon as they crossed the border, they registered with as many adoption agencies as they could find. They didn't have much going for them: recent immigrants, newlyweds, my dad was getting his PhD. But eventually, they got Maddie and they just fell in love with being parents. Three years later, they got Noah and so on and so forth," she explained quietly, running her thumb across his knuckles.

"And where do you and Alex fit into that?"

"We were 'surprises'."

"I assumed your parents couldn't have kids?"

"No, they just really wanted to help people but didn't know how. I mean, my mom never set her heart on a career because she just wanted to be a mom and my dad's a philosophy professor." She laughed quietly. "So they did the only thing they could think of: adopted a lot of kids and loved them with everything they had."

He was quiet for a while, staring up at the stars. It was always so easy for parents, for his parents, to say they wanted their kids. But with the Montezs, it was so obvious. No one would go through all the time, money, and frustration of adopting if they didn't _want_ those kids. And even Gabriella and Alex, the 'accidents', were so obviously _wanted_. And yet, he sometimes wondered if his parents' lives would be easier without him.

"Do you like it?" he asked eventually. "Having a big family, I mean."

She turned onto her stomach so she was looking at him. She bit into the cookie offered to her. "I don't know anything different. It's hard and frustrating at times, but I know I have eleven best friends by default. And at sporting events or dance recitals or scholastic decathlons, I'm guaranteed cheerleaders." Her smile slipped slightly and she glanced away. She seemed to want to say something more on the topic but said instead, "Something tells me you don't get on with your family?"

He rolled his eyes. "Understatement of the century. I used to, I guess. They were at every basketball game and they were proud of my grades. But after I wrecked my knee, they kind of expect me to be the same guy I used to be. Or at least, they expect me to have moved on. And I haven't, not completely."

He nudged Gabriella off him so he could sit up and stretch his arms behind his head. He sighed and leaned back on his hands. He looked across at her as she sat up and faced him. "They want me to go to the U of A business school. I mean, I don't even know what studying business means."

She laughed and rubbed his arm. "Then they don't know you."

"No, they don't," he agreed. "So, do you want a big family when you're older?"

She looked down at the blanket, picking at a thread. "Of course I do. Maybe not twelve, but definitely more than two. I mean, I'm even dreading college because I can't imagine a life where I don't have to physically fight someone to use the bathroom."

He laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. He remembered the way she looked at little Eddie and Sammy, the way she looked at Alex before they left, the way she looked at Noah who could probably beat the entire basketball team to pulp on his own. He knew she'd do anything for any of them and he knew she'd be an amazing mother.

"What about you? Do you want kids?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Well, I guess I do. I just don't want to become my father."

She frowned and seemed to ponder that. "You won't."

"How do you know? I thought it was the thing to turn into your parents."

She shrugged. "Some things, a girl just knows."

He leaned away from her. "That's a load of crap."

She laughed. "Yes, but crap that works miracles on upset younger siblings. I thought I'd give it a shot."

He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a full length conversation with Katie, much less an opportunity to feed her miraculous crap.

She leaned her head back to look at the sky. "Listen, no parent knows what they're doing. I mean, look at my folks: twelve kids and they still screw up."

"Your parents are awesome, though. They listen to you and smile when you talk."

"Yes, but there's a good way to tell a kid he's adopted and there's definitely a bad way."

He laughed and looked across at her, looking into her eyes. "I get it."

"Look, I'm not a parent. But I like to believe everything my parents do is because they think it's the best thing for me and my brothers and sisters. I think that's what your parents are doing. And I know that when, or if, you're a father, everything you do will be what you think is best for your kid."

Sometime after eleven, they packed everything away and they drove slowly back to Gabriella's house, neither of them wanting the night to end. When Troy killed the engine, Gabriella dismounted and gave him her helmet.

She glanced back at the house and turned back to him, gripping her bag strap. "Thank you for tonight."

He rested the helmet on his lap and shrugged. "Thank you for coming. I'll text you tomorrow?"

"I'd like that." She turned around towards the house but quickly turned back to him. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything."

"You know how we kissed while I was with the Lawbreaker? I don't want you to worry about that. I wouldn't do that to you."

Honestly, he hadn't thought about it. He just wanted to be with her and perhaps he should be concerned. Once a cheater, always a cheater and all that. But something in her eyes told him she meant every word.

"I know."

She stepped closer wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. She pulled back and brushed his hair away from his forehead. "You're not Justin."

"What about your family? They could see you kissing me."

She shrugged. "There's no one at the door, windows or on the roof."

"Are you related to Santa or…?"

She laughed. "Noah used to hang out on the roof waiting for Justin to drop me off after a date. He's not there. I better go in and you better text me tomorrow."

She gave him a final smile and he watched her go into the house, already knowing he was falling for her.


	13. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Being with Troy was surreal. At the risk of quoting every cheesy love song in existence, time stopped when I was with him. Until I had to meet my curfew or we had to get to class. And I liked being with him. He made me feel good and I didn't have to worry about him liking my family because I knew that he did. He respected my familial commitments and understood when I couldn't agree to plans or when I didn't text him back right away. He didn't expect anything from me.

We spent every free period together, went to the lake when we could and every time we met, he seemed happier and calmer. He was still quiet but I liked that. He wasn't trying to impress me because he didn't have to.

I still hadn't told anybody about our relationship and Troy didn't pressure me to, knowing I would tell everybody when I was ready. I wanted to, I wanted to share my happiness with my family. But just like Maddie didn't tell us about Dan, I was happy keeping Troy to myself for a while.

Although Justin had promised to ruin my reputation back in Midland, I had yet to see the effects. My best girl friend still talked to me regularly and hadn't mentioned any nasty rumours and Facebook hadn't exploded with gossip. I guessed that Justin had chosen to wallow in self pity instead of lashing out irrationally. I had received my things that I'd left at his house and I hadn't heard from him since. Thank goodness.

This being said, Noah was a smart guy. As in a smart-enough-to-get-a-full-academic-scholarship-to-MIT guy. So as the weeks passed, I knew that he suspected something. He would casually ask how Troy was doing over dinner or linger in his bedroom when I returned late from a date.

One day, a couple of weeks after we got together, I sat down at my usual lunch table with my brown paper bag and water bottle. Sharpay and Taylor were already there and a few minutes later, Noah and Chad joined us. Chad started talking about the upcoming basketball game and Sharpay was wittering about what a cheerleader was caught doing with a baseball player. I, meanwhile, listened halfheartedly and started texting Troy. He'd told me that he usually left campus for lunch and bought a sandwich from a deli down the street, choosing to eat it at the park instead of the crowded cafeteria. No wonder he was usually later after lunch.

"Don't you think, Gabi?"

I glanced up at Sharpay, trying to gage what she was talking about. "Absolutely?"

Taylor quirked an eyebrow. "You think the theme for the end of year ball should be 'Starry Night'?"

I couldn't quite figure out why it was such an absurd idea but I shrugged and looked back down at my phone, smiling at Troy's reply.

"Why are you smiling?" Noah asked.

I shrugged. "I'm happy. There aren't many other reasons to smile."

I knew he wasn't convinced but he let the matter drop, allowing Sharpay and Taylor continue their heated debate. When I looked down to read Troy's latest text, I could still feel Noah staring at me.

That Friday night, Troy and I went out to the lake. As usual, he brought leftovers from home and afterwards, we lay down on the blanket, looking up at the stars. Our hands weaved together as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And it kind of was.

After a while, Troy shifted his weight and began, "This is a bit of a random question but I trust your judgement and want your opinion: what's the best music school in America?"

I frowned and squeezed his hand, keeping my gaze on the stars above. "Um, I'm not sure. I've heard Juilliard is pretty good."

"I've also heard it's full of pretentious rich kids." He paused and turned onto his side, resting his head in his palm. "Where are you applying?"

"Stanford," I answered immediately. I couldn't quite look him in the eye. In fact, I couldn't look at anybody when I told them my plans for college. They gushed and praised me and the truth was that applying to Stanford wasn't a big deal unless I was accepted.

"I didn't know they had a particularly good music programme?"

"Neither do I," I mumbled absentmindedly as I traced my gaze around Orion and his belt.

He frowned. "Surely you should check it out before you apply?"

"Well, I don't think the music and prelaw programmes interact too much."

He sat up and pulled me with him, turning me to face him. "You're not studying music? What about your violin?"

I shrugged and picked at some loose thread on the plaid blanket. "I love my violin and I'll always play but I'm not good enough for music school. I'm not talented enough or creative enough and that's fine. So I decided to study prelaw instead," I explained.

Honestly, Stanford wasn't that special to me. It wasn't my parents' alma mater and I'd never even set foot on the campus. On top of that, the tuition was a fortune and I knew that if I didn't get a scholarship, I wouldn't get to Stanford. While I had always loved Midland, I always knew I'd leave when I turned eighteen, just like Maddie had. So when she left, I threw a dart at a map, which landed on California, and at fourteen years old, I decided that Stanford University was the school for me.

And just because I now lived in the city didn't mean I'd changed my mind.

"Prelaw at Stanford? Has anyone ever told you that you're really smart?"

I shrugged. "Once or twice."

"And your plans after Stanford?"

I reached forward to rest my hand on his cheek, his eyes wide and bright. It had only been a matter of weeks and we still hadn't referred to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend, but I knew exactly what he was really asking. He wanted to know what would happen to us after high school and college.

I closed my eyes and looked away, overwhelmed by the worries about my mother and family that usually left me in Troy's company. In recent months, I didn't think about plans regarding anything but college. And I wanted to explain, really. But what words could explain all the things I had to consider?

I looked out across the lake at the mountains looming in the ink black sky. "Harvard law school. Practice environmental law. Save the planet."

"You seem to have it all figured out," he murmured.

I looked back to him and shook my head. "Not everything. What about you? Judging from the beginning of this conversation, you're heading to music school?"

"Again with the smarts. Yeah. I want to study the piano, especially composition. Does that sound dumb?"

"Not at all. I haven't heard you play yet but I know you're great just from the way you talk about music."

He paused, looking into my eyes and just when it was bordering on awkward, he said, "I want to go to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music." He said it in a rush, as if he was afraid to say out loud, as if he was afraid of my reaction.

"Wow. Not just any music school but a conservatory. That sounds amazing."

He laughed, almost in disbelief. "Well, I actually applied for their summer school. Three weeks during summer vacation with their top professors and one student gets a full scholarship to study there after graduation." He paused. "Do you think I can do that?"

"Honestly? I don't know. All I know is that I know you and I know you should try." After a moment, I smiled and said, "Besides, if all else fails, there's the U of A business school."

Without missing a beat, Troy grabbed my shoulders and pushed me into the blanket, kissing me gently. I smiled against his lips and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him close.

He pulled back and pushed my bangs from my forehead. "Hilarious. Nothing make me go to that school."

When he dropped me back home, I glanced at the house, searching for any signs of Noah. No movement of any drapes, no light at his bedroom window, and no shadows on the roof. I turned back to Troy and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him in for a long kiss. I felt Troy dig his fingers into the small of my back and I pulled back an inch to look into his eyes.

"I'll call you tomorrow?"

"I was expecting you to text me as soon as I close the door," I mumbled as I kissed him again. I let go of him and headed into the house.

In the lounge, Dad, Nate, Tommy, and Alex were all tapping away on their laptops and iPads.

"Did you have a nice night?" Dad asked, looking away from his screen.

I nodded. "Is Mom alright?"

"Just tired."

When I got to my room, I checked my phone to see a text from Troy. Before I could reply, there was a knock at my bedroom door. I turned to see Noah in the doorway, smirking at me.

"How was your evening?" he asked.

"It was nice. How was your date with Roxanne?"

He pulled a face. "What does Alex say? A lovely light bulb but not a lot of wattage."

I cracked a smile. It was easy for Noah to be seen as a player but honestly, it wasn't his fault. He was going to MIT to study physics and he was already planning to get his PhD from Yale. And yet, not many people could see past his talent on the wrestling mat. So he mostly landed dates with girls who just wanted a bit of popularity. He shrugged it off but I knew he wanted someone he could talk to about the universe, not just upcoming parties.

"Anyway, Gabi, is there something you want to tell me?"

I couldn't look at him as I shrugged my jacket off and hung it in my closet. "No."

"Well, is there something Troy needs to tell me?"

I slowly turned back to him and shrugged. "Why would Troy need to tell you anything?"

"Oh, no reason. It's just that I saw him making out with my sister."

I grabbed a pillow from my bed and hit him with it. "You were spying on me again? But I checked the windows and the roof."

"Ah, but this isn't Midland. There's a little dip next to the chimney, perfect for hiding."

"Damn it," I muttered, tossing the pillow back onto my bed.

"So why haven't you told anybody? He seems like a decent guy."

I shrugged. "Noah, Troy and I got together the minute I ended it with Justin. I don't want people judging us. Besides, I kind of want to have Troy to myself before you interrogate him forever."

"I'm insulted that you think that." He laughed. "I can't comment on East High but we wouldn't judge you for wanting to be happy with Troy. I know things are pretty weird and complicated here but it's going to fine."

He'd said that same thing to me all year and in that moment, I honestly believed him.

And it was true. For a few days.

The following Thursday, I was woken up by a pounding on my bedroom door instead of my alarm.

I squinted at my clock. 5:30.

"Gabi! Noah! Up! Now!" my dad yelled.

I crawled out of bed and slowly opened the door, rubbing my blurry eyes. Noah stood opposite in a wife beater vest and a pair of trunks, holding a hand over his mouth to cover his yawn. Dad breathed a sigh of relief when he saw us.

"Why am I awake before my alarm?" Noah mumbled, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Your mom's sick. She's been throwing up most of the night and is running a pretty high temperature. It's probably just a virus but I really don't want the little ones to get it. I need to stay with your mom so I need you to help get everybody get ready."

Noah and I shared a glance.

"Now," Dad snapped.

Noah and I disappeared into our rooms and hurried to get dressed. I threw the books I needed for the day into my bag and rushed downstairs to the bathroom. Instead of washing my hair like I did every morning, I tamed my dark curls into a messy ponytail, quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth.

I bumped into Noah outside of our rooms. "Hey."

"Hey." He paused, glancing down the stairs that led to our siblings and an inevitably chaotic day. "How should we do this?"

I shrugged, following his gaze. "I guess I'll start with Eddie, you start with Nate and we'll meet somewhere outside Teddy's room."

Eddie was confused, Sammy had a complete meltdown, I didn't do Riley's hair the way Mom usually did, and I couldn't find Benji's lucky socks. I managed to get them all downstairs where Nate and Tommy were juggling breakfast and making our lunches and by the time I reached Teddy's room, I was exhausted.

Noah quirked an eyebrow. "You okay?"

I didn't answer him as I looked towards the bathroom where I could hear Jo and Alex shouting obscenities at each other in Japanese. I rushed towards them and shoved Alex away.

"What the hell?" I hissed. Mom was upstairs but I didn't want anything to disturb her.

"It's my time to shower," Alex protested, glaring at Jo.

"No one has time for a shower this morning," I snapped. "Just brush your teeth, wash your face, and get downstairs for breakfast."

When everybody was more or less ready, Dad called me, Noah, Nate, Tommy, and Alex into the kitchen. "I need you to take your brothers and sisters to school. You'll have to take the minivan as well as the truck."

Although Mom had given up a lot of her typical mom duties in the last year, she still insisted on doing something. And that 'something' was making sure that everyone left the house in a semi-good mood. And with Mom settled in bed upstairs, breakfast got burned, we ran out of bread for our lunches, and we were all late leaving the house.

Noah and I took Eddie and Sammy to preschool in the truck and we stayed a few extra minutes to explain why Sammy would probably be unsettled to say the least. Nate, Tommy, and Alex dropped Riley, Benji, and Teddy at the elementary school and Jo at the middle school in the minivan. We all met up in the parking lot of East High.

"What took you so long?" Noah asked as Nate locked the minivan.

"It turns out that Teddy forgot that he needed some of Mom's cookies for a bake sale and threw a tantrum. We all kind of knew he was just worried about Mom," Tommy explained.

"So what do we do now?" Alex asked as we paused outside the main entrance. I heard the warning bell and knew we were cutting it close. But we couldn't quite bring ourselves to head inside just yet.

Nate shrugged. "We go to homeroom and take it one class at a time, I guess."

I ran into Ms Darbus' classroom with about thirty seconds to spare and collapsed into my chair at the back of the room. Troy twisted in his seat to give me a quizzical look and I just shrugged in response.

I'd hoped that Dad would text us, giving us updates on Mom's condition and maybe even a diagnosis. But I hadn't heard anything and that seemed worse than facing the inevitable bad news.

At free period, I met Troy as usual and welcomed him with a quick kiss. Without saying anything, I brought out the novel we were reading in English and tried to lose myself in nineteenth century England.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work because after a while, Troy asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why?" I mumbled, not lifting my gaze.

"You've been reading the same page for fifteen minutes."

I slowly looked up at him, not realising quite how distracted I was. "Really?"

"Yeah. What's going on?" When I didn't answer, he said, "Look, you don't have to tell me, just know you can."

Without saying another word, I pulled him closer and kissed him. Really kissed him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and felt him slowly wind his arms around my waist. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip and I quickly granted him access. We'd made out plenty of times. On the rooftop, at the lake, even leaning against his motorcycle. But this felt different.

I clung to him, desperate to stop worrying about my mom. Usually, Troy made me forget the worries that I always felt for my family. But the more I kissed him, the more I worried and I even felt sick with guilt. While my mom was sick, I was making out with my secret boyfriend. And I wasn't just making out with him. I was using him, kissing him in an attempt to forget what was going on at home.

I pulled back for breath and pressed my face into Troy's neck, not able to look at him. "I'm sorry."

Troy pushed me back slightly and frowned. "You're apologising for kissing me? Why? You're very good at it."

I couldn't help but laugh although it didn't sound convincing, even to me. "No, I meant that… I just… Oh, it sounds so stupid." I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes, wanting nothing more than to go back to 4:59am when I was asleep and unaware that my mom was so sick.

He shrugged. "Just tell me."

"I don't know. I feel like I just used you. I'm feeling really crap and I'm having a bad day and I just kissed you to make me feel better."

He nodded slowly and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. "And do you? Feel better?"

"A little bit," I admitted quietly.

"Well isn't that what this is about? Making each other feel good? Because God only knows how good you make me feel just knowing I can call you when my parents are on my case. Right?"

Without saying another word, I rested my head on his shoulder, allowing him to wrap his arms around me. I should've told him what was going on, but I just focussed on his arms that made me feel safe, like everything would be okay. Even if it didn't seem like it in the moment.

When the warning bell rang, we parted to visit our lockers and I took the long way to math in the hopes of finding one of my brothers. I spotted Noah about to enter a biology lab and ran to catch up to him.

"Noah!"

He stopped and turned to me, causing several students to crash into his back. "Hey."

"Have you heard from Dad?" I knew the answer before he could even open his mouth.

"No."

If Mom or Dad ever had a reason to text us, even letting us know the plans for dinner, they text all of us. So if I didn't know anything, I knew Noah didn't either.

He shrugged. "She'll be okay."

I couldn't agree with him. I couldn't even pretend to believe him. I could only excuse myself and rush to math, running into the classroom just as the final bell rang. Once again, Troy gave me a curious look but I gave no reaction.

Honestly, I have never found it quite so hard to concentrate. Usually, I don't get distracted easily. But in that class all I could think about was Mom and how I would give anything to be back on the rooftop in Troy's arms. Well, if I was getting anything, I'd want my mom to be just fine.

After what seemed like five hours but was only twenty minutes, there was a knock and one of the receptionists peered around the door.

"Terribly sorry to interrupt, Mr Miller. May I borrow Miss Montez?"

I froze, my pen poised, ready to copy the equation on the board. I lifted my head to look at Mr Miller.

He nodded and gestured to me. "Of course. Gabriella?"

I slowly stood up and made my way to the door.

"Oh, Miss Montez," the receptionist piped up. "Bring your things."

I was a pretty smart girl so I'd figured out why I was being summoned the moment she said my name. I glanced back at Troy, desperate to bring him with me. Instead, I silently gathered my books into my arms and pulled my bag onto my shoulder. I glanced back at Troy once more and then left the classroom, following the receptionist down the hall.

After a few moments of awkward silence, I said, "So what's this about?"

As if I had to ask.

"I think it's best if we get some privacy first," she said quietly.

She led me through the reception area to a small room not much bigger than a closet. Inside, my brothers were perched tensely on the plastic seats. Clearly they'd guessed why we were all here, too. I took a seat next to Alex, but couldn't meet anybody's gaze.

"So," Noah began. There were times when he was a childish idiot, but he knew he was the oldest and knew exactly when he had to act like it. "What did Dad say?"

The receptionist frowned as she flipped through the pages of her notebook. "How did you know your father called?"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "We're all straight A students and take extra AP classes. We're pretty smart and all know why we're here."

She nodded and glanced down at the page in front of her. "Well, he said that your mother has been admitted to Albuquerque General Infirmary and the doctors are running tests. He will be at the hospital until the doctors have a diagnosis. He asked for you all to be excused from your classes to get your brothers and sisters from school and prepare dinner. He'll be in touch when he has some news."

We signed ourselves out of our remaining classes and gathered around the truck and minivan. We were quiet and avoided each other's eyes, knowing that when we got into the cars, it would all become real.

"So," Nate began slowly, "how do we play this?"

I glanced at Noah and shrugged. "We do exactly what Dad wants us to do. We get everyone from school and fix dinner and deal with this together."

"Should we call Maddie?" Alex asked, putting his backpack in the backseat of the minivan.

Maddie had her studies, her jobs, even Dan. She was family and she worried about Mom but she had her own worries, too. "No," I said.

Noah raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"No," I repeat. "We do exactly as Dad asked. We get everyone from school, cook dinner and wait for news."


	14. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: In case you didn't guess, I have completely made up the medical jargon and the transplant list thing. So please don't correct any factual errors.**

Chapter Twelve

The moment the final bell rang, Troy dashed from the classroom and made a two second stop at his locker to grab his motorcycle helmet. As usual, the parking lot was crammed as everyone tried to escape the clutches of high school. Troy skirted around as many stationary cars as he could but it was too packed. Eventually, with patience wearing thin, Troy mounted the sidewalk and cut into the street, causing several cars to slam on their brakes and blast their horns. But he didn't care.

He knew he drove dangerously by default these days and he also knew a shrink would have a field day with that idea alone. However, he knew he was driving even more dangerously in an effort to get to Gabriella's house. She worried about his driving habits, just like his mother did, and she would kill him if she knew he was risking his life just to see her. But he couldn't forget the look on her face when the receptionist pulled her out of class. He doubted she was called for Principal Matsui to expel her.

He pulled up at the curb of Gabriella's house and leapt off his bike. As he ran up the path to the door, he threw his helmet to the side and heard an alarming crack but he didn't even glance back at it.

He hammered relentlessly on the door and yelled, "Open up!"

Eventually, the door swung open to reveal Alex glaring at him. "Not a good time, Leatherman."

He started to close the door but Troy put one foot over the threshold. "Is everyone okay?" he blurted.

Alex slowly pulled the door open and frowned. "What did you just say?"

"Is everyone okay?"

The Latino glanced over his shoulder. "Um, you better come inside." He led Troy through the house to the backyard where Gabriella was, as usual, on all fours in the middle of a yoga session with Eddie and Sammy. "Gabi?"

"I said I don't want to be disturbed," Gabriella said in her soothing voice, although Troy could tell she was tense.

"The Leatherman is here," Alex said quietly.

Gabriella slowly sat back, lifting her head to look at Troy. Tears gathered in her eyes and she got to her feet to launch herself into his arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and started sobbing into his shoulder.

Troy slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and met Alex's eye over her shoulder. There was no doubt that he had figured out what was going on between his sister and 'The Leatherman' and his slight nod just confirmed it.

Alex coughed quietly and rested a hand on Gabriella's shoulder, though she wouldn't lift her head. "Why don't you go inside? I'll finish up here."

Gabriella finally turned to face her brother. "But the yoga-"

"I'll finish the yoga." He glanced over at Eddie and Sammy who were still on all fours, evidently waiting for the next position. "I've been watching you do this for three years but if all else fails, I'm sure Eddie will tell me if I do something wrong."

"Thanks," Gabriella whispered. She turned to Troy and grasped his hand. "Come with me."

She pulled him up all three flights of stairs to her room and closed the door behind them, instantly pulling Troy in for a kiss. He held her tightly, knowing that whatever was going on, whatever was wrong in her life, she needed him.

After a moment, she pulled away and moved over to her closet, facing away from him, where she proceeded to strip off her crop top and leggings. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before (he had, after all, seen her in her underwear every time they went swimming together) and it was probably a bit inappropriate considering the circumstances of his visit. But he still couldn't help admiring the curves of her waist, the slopes of her shoulders, the smooth skin of her back.

"The thing is," she started quietly, still not facing him, "my mom's sick."

He dropped his bag to the floor and sat on her bed, watching her pull on some jeans. "I know."

She silently slipped on a blue bra and slowly turned to face him. "How do you know that?"

He shrugged, struggling not to stare at her chest. "When I stayed for dinner, your dad kept giving her weird looks. I didn't know why until I came to pick you up for a date and she came into the hall and had to use the wall for support. I'm a pretty smart guy; I could figure it out."

She turned away from him again and pulled on an oversized Indiana Pacers t-shirt. She sat down next to him and interlocked their fingers together. She took a deep breath and explained exactly what was going on: how about six months ago, she and Noah went to a party in Indianapolis; how they figured out that the punch was spiked; how they called Maria to pick them up as they didn't want to drive home; how she was angry they put themselves in that situation but relieved they didn't drink and drive; how they were crossing an intersection when another car, driven by another kid from the party, collided with theirs.

How Noah had several broken and bruised ribs and couldn't wrestle or play the drums for almost two months; how Gabriella had a severe concussion and a broken arm which meant she couldn't play lacrosse or her violin for six weeks; how the adrenaline from the accident caused Maria to have a heart attack; how she needed a transplant and was waiting for a suitable donor.

"That's why we moved here. The transplant list is better here, more efficient, than it is in Indiana," she explained. She rubbed her thumb over his knuckles as if she was comforting him instead of the other way around. "Every time I hear the phone ring, I'm praying it's the hospital but then I feel guilty because I'm basically praying for someone to die. Does that make me a bad person?"

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her close to his chest. "Not at all. You want your mom to be okay. That's normal. And whoever this donor is, it's what they and their family will want: to save someone's life. That's why they'll be on the donor register." He paused and gently ran his fingers through her hair, noticing some strands of dark blonde mixing with her natural black. "You don't blame yourself. Right?"

She sat up and wiped her eyes. "No. At least, I know I shouldn't. I know the logic: the guy shouldn't have been drinking and definitely shouldn't have run the red light. But if we hadn't gone to that party-"

"That asshole would've still got drunk, would've got behind the wheel, and probably would've crashed into someone else. It's not your fault," he said earnestly. "So, why were you called out of class?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing to do with her heart. At least, not directly. She's got some kind of infection or virus. But her weak heart means she's got a pretty crap immune system. We knew she'd be weak while we wait for a transplant but we haven't had to face this before." She bit her lip and ran her fingers through her hair. "What if we don't find a donor in time? What if she can't wait?"

"I don't know," Troy admitted. "I guess you do what you're all best at: you love and care for each other no matter what." When she lifted her head, he reached forward and ran his thumbs beneath each of her eyes. "So have you heard anything?"

"No. Dad's still at the hospital. He said we just have to make dinner and wait for news."

Troy stood up and offered his hand. "Let's get started, then. I can't be certain but I'll bet that 90% of the contents of your kitchen go to Noah, right?"

Gabriella didn't move. "You're staying?"

That made him pause. "Well, I mean, if you want me here. I'll do whatever you need me to."

"Stay," she whispered.

They went downstairs and started making mac and cheese. Gabriella explained that it was simple but foolproof for her younger siblings. When she announced that Troy was staying for dinner, a glance passed around Alex, Nate, Tommy, and Noah and they instantly knew the situation. He even spied twelve year old Jo mouthing to Gabriella that she wanted details.

After the majority of food was eaten, Gabriella began covering the leftovers with Saran wrap. Troy stood to take some dirty dishes to the kitchen when Noah called out to him, gesturing to the back yard.

"Noah," Gabriella said in a warning tone, glaring at her brother.

He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "I just want to talk to the guy," he muttered as he stepped outside with Troy.

Troy knew that he should probably be scared. Noah was easily a foot taller and could probably knock him out with one punch. But he watched the graceful way he quickly gathered forgotten toys into plastic boxes and stowed them in the shed and hoped he wasn't quite as violent as he looked. Troy felt sick when he saw Noah pick up a discarded basketball and shoot it towards the net attached to the side of the house.

Noah continued to shoot baskets while Troy watched his easy movements, feeling slightly awkward. "Chad tells me that you used to be quite the basketball man."

"I can't play anymore," Troy said quietly, averting his gaze from Noah's mini basketball practice.

"Chad told me that, too. Do you still shoot hoops?"

"No."

"Do you want to?" Noah asked as he shot another basket.

Troy couldn't even comprehend his actions as he dashed towards the net and caught the ball before it could touch the ground. He froze and looked down at the ball, turning it over in his hands, running his fingers over the rough orange leather. He missed basketball, of course he did. The challenge, the adrenaline, the competitiveness that ran deep in the Bolton genes; it was all so addictive. It had been part of his life for so long that when he decided to give up basketball, he felt a physical ache for weeks which had nothing to do with his knee injury. He just didn't realise how much he missed it until he held a ball for the first time in over a year.

He ran one hand through his hair, not looking away from the ball. What he would give to just 'shoot hoops' with his dad again. No training or drills or tactics. Or pressure about the University of Albuquerque, for that matter. Just spending time together and shooting hoops for fun. But, God, if his father caught a whiff of Troy enjoying basketball again, he wouldn't rest until Troy was back on that court, no matter what risk it posed for his knee and future mobility.

He swallowed hard and finally looked at Noah. "I haven't shot a basket in over a year," he admitted.

"From what Chad said, I don't blame you. But this isn't the championship game, there are no college scouts here. So it doesn't matter."

Taking a deep breather, Troy looked up at the hoop and launched the ball at it. The ball circled the rim several times before dropping through the net. It was far from a perfect shot but it seemed that it would take more than a freak injury to throw off his raw talent.

He released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Wow."

Noah stepped forward to catch the ball and they fell into an easy rhythm of taking turns shooting baskets and catching the ball. "You really were the basketball man. If you don't mind me asking, how do you keep fit these days? You know, to avoid hurting your knee."

"Exercise is fine as long as it's not too intense. I jog, lift weights, especially leg weights. I try to strengthen the joint, ligaments, muscles." He rested the ball on his hip and coughed self-consciously. "Between you and me, I do pilates sometimes, too."

Noah laughed and took the ball, tossing it at the net. "Your secret is safe with me."

Troy frowned and glanced back at the kitchen window to see Jo and Alex washing dishes together. He turned his attention back to Noah. "I'm guessing you didn't call me out here to ask about my fitness regime."

"Gabi was right. You really are smart," Noah mused as he shot another basket.

"Not gonna lie, I'm insulted that you questioned that."

"Well, I need to ask you something: why did you come here? Today?"

Troy caught the ball as it fell through the net and frowned down on it, turning it over in his hands. "Why wouldn't I? I really like Gabriella and I care about her. A lot. And you guys have been good to me, too. I mean, Gabriella was acting strange all day and when she was called out of class, of course I was worried." He threw the ball at Noah. Hard. Perhaps his anger wasn't exactly caused by Noah. There was a lot of emotions flying around the Montez house and even Troy was swept up in it all. But how could Noah doubt his motives for turning up at the front door?

Noah rolled his eyes. "The Lawbreaker never came here."

"What?"

Noah rubbed his forehead. "He never came here. At least, not like this. Gabi started dating him just before the accident. I'm guessing you know what happened?" He continued shooting baskets by himself while he talked, and Troy guessed he was releasing much more anger than Troy had when he threw the ball a mere thirty seconds ago. "He never cared about anyone but Gabi. He didn't care that the accident almost ruined my sporting career or that Mom can't even shower because she's too weak or that we all have had to put more effort into this family because Mom isn't able to pull us all together by herself anymore. He only cared about where he and Gabi could be seen together. So I'm sorry for not expecting you to turn up at our door today."

Well that explained Alex's reluctance to let him in the house, why Gabriella seemed shocked that he offered to stay, and why Noah questioned his motives.

Troy watched the muscular mountain continue is repetitious movements. "Okay. My turn for a question: Gabriella is smart. Really smart. I've seen her extra credit work for physics. So why was she dating that asshole?"

Noah shrugged and let the basketball roll away into a dark corner of the yard. "Everyone has their own theory. Maddie, our older sister, suggests that Gabi was going through a textbook case of 'hopeful love', as she calls it. As in, Gabi thought, or hoped, she could make the Lawbreaker a better person. I, on the other hand, think she was abducted by aliens and now she's taking over the world one douchebag at a time."

Troy laughed. "I certainly hope you're not insinuating that I'm included in those douchebags."

"You were cutting it close the first day we met but you're okay. And real talk, you haven't made Sammy have a meltdown once. That's a good sign."

Gabriella joined them outside (Troy was pretty sure she was making sure that Noah hadn't murdered him) and he told her he should probably get going.

"You know you can stay," she offered as they made their way through the house.

"I know but I like to at least show my parents I'm still alive before I go to sleep." He rolled his eyes but couldn't help but wonder what would happen to his family if his mother was as ill as Gabriella's. Gabriella's father still got up, helped with the kids, and worked full time at U of A. His dad could barely work the coffee machine without someone's assistance.

As they walked down the path towards his bike, Troy bent down to retrieve his helmet. There was some light scuffing to the back but the visor seemed to be in tact.

"You know," Gabriella began as Troy lent back against his bike, "if you ever need to get away from your parents, or if you want somewhere to crash for a night, you can sleep here. You could bunk with Noah or in the basement. No one would mind."

"I know. Hey, if you hear anything about your mom, let me know. I mean it. Even if it's 2AM."

She silently wrapped her arms around him and kissed him slowly. He wrapped his arms tight around her waist, pulling her closer to him until their bodies were pressed together from shoulder to hip. He felt her tugging the hairs at the base of his neck and she did this thing with her tongue that made stars collide and planets align and his hormones ran wild, mostly below his belt. He pushed her away, his fingers digging into her skin, holding her at arm's length. He was red hot: he could feel his t-shirt sticking to his back, his jeans were now rather uncomfortable and he was panting. But he still couldn't tear his eyes away from her. Her cheeks were rosy and her dark curls bobbed around her head as she took deep breaths, clearly just as affected by him as he was by her.

"Are you okay?" she whispered. "Did I do something wrong?"

He couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head. "God no. That was right. Really, really right. But if we keep going, I'll have to stay but I won't be staying in the basement or Noah's room."

His eyes widened and he wished he could take the words back. They made out every opportunity they had and they'd even got to second base a couple pf times at the lake. But this was the closest they'd ever come to talking about sex.

Her gaze flicked down to his crotch and her eyes widened with realisation. Her blush deepened. "Oh. I see."

He only smiled and pulled her closer to give her one last peck on the lips. "Let me know if you hear anything. I mean it."

The following day, Troy finished his morning rehearsal in the auditorium and made his way to Gabriella's locker. She hadn't text him with updates as 2AM but he woke up to an early morning text telling him that the doctors forced her dad to return home with no updates on her mother's health. She also promised him that they would be kissing as they had the previous night again very soon.

With ten minutes until the warning bell, the halls were full of students juggling books, throwing balls around, and gossiping in groups. He fought his way through the crowds until he spied the dark curls of his girlfriend rummaging through her locker. This would be the first time they talked, really talked, in front of other students. He couldn't wait until free period, and he certainly couldn't wait until school ended to talk to her. Not after that kiss last night.

He quietly approached and leaned against the locker next to hers. When she moved her gaze to him, he offered her a quiet smile. "Hey."

She blushed and looked down at her bag as she searched for something. Hey."

Troy glanced over at a group of cheerleaders who seemed to be not-so-subtly eavesdropping. He could even see an ex-girlfriend giving him a disapproving look. As if he cared. She never did that beautiful thing with her tongue. He turned his attention back to his current girlfriend who was flicking through a textbook. "Any news?"

She looked up at him, her eyes almost shining with hope. "The hospital called this morning before we left. Her temperature is still spiking but her pulse, blood pressure, and heart rate are all much better. She's on some pretty powerful meds so if they can get her temperature under control, she should be able to come home in the next few days."

He grinned and pulled her in for a hug, lifting her off the floor. "I'm so happy for you," he mumbled into her shoulder. He slowly put her down and stepped back, meeting her eyes. He could feel the cogs turning in the peers around them but he didn't care.

"Yeah. We're still worried, obviously. But things are looking up."

"Troy?"

He turned around to come face to face with Chad. They'd known each other since Pre K, played basketball together since they could walk, and Troy even knew Chad loved Taylor before she did. Walking away from his friends was harder than deciding to give up basketball. And he'd had to do it, to be by himself for a while and to learn who he could be without basketball. And it was easy to be alone. Until he came face to face with Chad Danforth in the crowded East High halls.

His life wasn't that bad without basketball. In fact, the hardest part was dealing with his parents and Chad had nothing to do with their expectations. He had Gabriella now and he was feeling good. About everything.

He shifted his backpack and glanced at Gabriella who had closed her locker and moved to stand beside him, slipping her hand into his.

"Hi," Troy finally said after what felt like an eternity.

"You guys, huh? Evans kept muttering about you guys getting together. I didn't think she'd be right. You've got yourself a great girl. Have you met Noah?"

Troy nodded.

"You should see him on the wrestling mat. And in science," he added as an afterthought. "Will you be having lunch with us? We'd really like you to. We know why you needed to be by yourself, but we've missed you."

Troy looked down at Gabriella who shrugged with a small smile and he knew she'd be happy with whatever decision he made. "I don't know," he finally admitted.

"That's okay. But if you want to, there's a seat with your name on it."

At lunch, Troy bought himself a questionable serving of 'Meat Surprise', an apple, and a bottle of water from the cafeteria instead of the deli down the street. And as promised, there was a vacant seat between Gabriella and Chad with a post it note on it which simply read: _Troy x_

"Is there some kind of protocol for having lunch with friends you haven't talked to in over a year?" he asked quietly, not even able to look at Gabriella. He didn't know when he'd be ready to hang out with everyone outside of school, but lunch in a grimy cafeteria was a start.

The conversation at the table went silent and Sharpay sprang to her feet and more or less lunged at him, forcing him into a hug. Perhaps one of the most bizarre friendships he'd ever had, Sharpay Evans and Troy Bolton should've been about as compatible as snow in the Sahara. But he'd known her longer than he'd known Chad so it was no surprise that she took his absence harder than most.

She pulled back from the hug and gave him a bright smile. "It's so good to see you."

She was quickly pushed out of the way by Chad who brought Troy in for another hug. When they parted, Chad gestured silently to the empty seat next to Gabriella and everyone sat down. No other fuss was made. There was no interrogation about his feelings or a cheesy toasting of drinks. The conversations merely resumed with one more participant.

He didn't say much, even when a question was directed at him, and he knew it would take a long time for him to feel completely at ease with his friends again. But he knew they accepted him completely for who he was without basketball and it was a step in the right direction.

As Troy silently watched the conversation fly back and forth, trying to keep up with names and inside jokes he didn't know, he felt Gabriella grip his hand under the table. When he looked over at her, he smiled. If Gabriella could deal with her mother's sickness and all her siblings without uttering a complaint, he could take a small step forward. And if he could reconnect with his old friends, he knew he'd someday play the piano in a crowded auditorium.

When they met for free period later that afternoon, they left their books safely in their bags and simply sat together and talked. They savoured the quiet of the rooftop before they had to go back to the crowds of the school and their families.

After a few moments of silence, Gabriella lifted her head from Troy's shoulder and turned to face him, her face bright with a smile. "I'm so proud of you for joining us at lunch. How did it feel?"

He looked around them: at the plants, at the sky, at the mountains, before returning his gaze to her face. "Weird. But good weird. I liked talking to them again. To be honest, I don't even know why I took Chad up on his offer to join you guys. But I guess with you and your mom, I realised I'm a different person now. And I like who I am with you." He paused. "It'll be a while before I'm hanging out to the mall and going to the movies but it's something."

She nodded in understanding and he knew from the look in her eyes that she meant everything she'd said. Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time someone told him they were proud of him. Maybe he hadn't given anybody the chance to tell him that but it didn't matter anymore because Gabriella was proud of him.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and just knew. He was only seventeen, most of his previous relationships hadn't gone past a second date, and he'd only been with Gabriella for a little under month. Realistically, how could he know what love felt like? But he just knew.

He was falling in love with Gabriella Montez.

"Listen," he said eventually, "I know you have a lot going on with your mom and everything but will you go on a date Saturday night? I really want to show you something."

She shrugged. "Well, it'll depend on my mom's condition but it should be fine."


	15. Chapter Thirteen

**A/N: I'm rating this chapter M for a sex scene. It's not explicit but it is there. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Mom was still in hospital on Saturday but her appetite had come back in full force, so she was eating everything the hospital had to offer. Dad was cautious about her eating so much so soon after her violent sickness but everyone knew he would do just about anything to keep her happy. So he went along with it. He even sneaked in some non-hospital-approved homemade cookies to satisfy her hunger. She was still being monitored but as long as her vitals remained stable, she would be able to return home Monday with some new medication to add to her current pharmacy-worthy collection which kept her heart stable.

I swung by the hospital after a rather grueling shift at the restaurant. The customers seemed ruder and the food more expensive, but I knew I was just more tense than usual. And I knew that whether she was in the hospital or not, Mom could make any bad day better.

I knocked on the door of Mom's room and smiled when I entered. She barely even glanced at me as I sat down next to her bed and I looked up at the TV which held her attention.

"Since when do you watch _Keeping Up With The Kardashians_?" I asked slowly.

Mom blindly reached for the remote and turned the TV off, finally focussing on me. "Since there is literally nothing else on at 4:30 in the afternoon and I am bored out of my mind."

I sighed and rummaged in my bag to dig out the dog eared copy of _Pride And Prejudice_ I'd found on Mom's bookshelf.

"Oh, thank God!" she exclaimed, holding the book to her chest. "Anyway, how was work?"

"Crap. But, I got a thirty dollar tip from one table." I couldn't help the smug smile spreading over my face, despite our surroundings.

Mom laughed. "Wow. Did you save someone's life or something?"

"No, I am not a hero. But I saved a little girl from staining her white dress with tomato soup. Anyway, how are doing today?"

"Hungry."

I dug through my bag again and pulled out a small slice of chocolate cake covered in saran wrap with a plastic fork. "You're welcome. But are you sure you should be eating so much? Can your stomach handle this?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're just like your father."

"Has he been here today?"

"No. Thank God. He took Jo to her soccer game."

"You know he's only worried about you, right?"

Mom shrugged as she ate the cake, allowing a few crumbs to fall onto the bed. "Gabi, what have I said since the beginning? I've raised twelve kids. And we, me and your father, have done a pretty damn good job, if I do say so myself. It'll take a lot more than a below average heart to pull me down."

I couldn't meet her gaze, focussing instead on the window on the other side of the room. I knew exactly why she'd said every single word. She guessed, or somehow knew, that I blamed myself. And although we'd never sat down and talked about it, I knew that Noah blamed himself, too. Bizarrely, we didn't blame each other, only ourselves. Mom and Dad, on the other hand, didn't blame anybody. I found it hard to believe they even blamed the drunk who ran the red light.

"Speaking of your sister, she was here first thing this morning with Tommy and Sammy and she said you have a hot date tonight. With Troy Bolton."

I finally met her gaze. "I know you and Jo aren't biologically related, but she's too much like you for her own good."

Mom finished the cake off and stifled a yawn. "So when did this happen with Troy?"

I thought about lying. I could've said he'd asked me out the previous day or even earlier that morning, anything so Mom wouldn't say we were rushing into things. But with twelve kids, Mom and Dad had inbuilt lie detectors.

I sighed and smoothed the skirt of my work uniform. "About a minute and a half after I ended it with Justin."

"A minute and a half? You started dating Troy a minute and a half after you broke up with the Lawbreaker?" she exclaimed. She started coughing violently into a tissue.

I smiled when she used the nickname that was usually used by my siblings. When she caught her breath, I rolled my eyes. "It's not that bad. Besides, you weren't exactly complaining when I broke up with him."

"You didn't give yourself time to grieve the relationship," she mumbled through a yawn.

"Mom, there wasn't anything to grieve." I paused. "Looking back, we broke up the second we left Indiana. I stopped having feelings for Justin a long time ago."

She seemed unconvinced, giving me a disapproving look. In a house with twelve kids, the phrase _I'm very disappointed_ was tossed around like a football and it hit you right in the gut. "Well," she started eventually, "does he make you happy?"

"So happy," I whispered. "And, just so you know, he turned up at the house on Thursday to make sure everyone was okay."

That got her attention. "He was worried?"

I nodded slowly, letting a smile pull at my lips. "I really like him."

"Well, you do seem happy. Happier than you ever were with The Lawbreaker. So what are you doing tonight?"

"Not sure. Usually, we just go to the lake together and eat some food but he said we're doing something different. He has something to show me, apparently. Anyway, I should get home if I want to cram in a yoga session and a shower." I stood up and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Get some rest. Someone will visit in the morning. And call us when the doctor visits, okay?"

I caught the bus home and changed into my yoga pants for my usual afternoon session with Sammy and Eddie. I showered and dressed in a white summer dress, a denim jacket, and some Converse sneakers. I hesitated for a moment before I pinned my hair up into a messy bun, leaving a few locks of hair framing my face. I didn't even bother to put any makeup on, assuming that Troy wouldn't expect me to.

Just as I was securing my violin in its case, under strict instructions to take it on our date, Tommy opened my door after knocking for barely a millisecond.

"Yo. The Leatherman is waiting for you downstairs," he said, leaning against the doorframe. "Looking as criminal-esque as ever."

I packed my phone, wallet, keys, and iPad into my purse and glared at my younger brother. "You like him and you know you do."

"To be fair, the Lawbreaker didn't exactly set the bar very high."

I grabbed my purse and violin and pushed past him. I hesitated at the top of the stairs and turned back to him. "Honesty time: you know how I was on some pretty strong painkillers after the accident? For my arm? I think they severely inhibited my judgement."

"You think?" he asked sarcastically. "Between you and me, Troy's a good guy. Just don't tell him that."

I rolled my eyes and headed downstairs. Troy was waiting for me at the front door in a white shirt paired with his usual jeans, boots, and leather jacket. I greeted him with a quick kiss but before I could head out of the front door, he held me at arm's length, narrowing his eyes. He reached to the back of my head and pulled on the hair tie, allowing my curls, now with some pale pink on the bottom layers, to fall around my shoulders. He brushed a couple of locks behind my ear. "Much better. I love it when your hair is down. I like to see the colours."

Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes as I thought of all the times Justin had asked me to tie my hair up. He complained that my hairs stuck to his car and clothes. Hearing Troy compliment my natural curls was borderline orgasmic.

We headed out to his motorcycle and I pulled my violin and purse across my body.

He gestured to my dress. "You look great. But can you ride in that?"

I pulled my skirt up to reveal a pair of white shorts I typically wore to the beach on vacation. "I'm prepared."

He just laughed and pulled me closer to kiss me. We rode the bike for about fifteen minutes, heading in the opposite direction of the lake. I didn't recognise the neighbourhood which was filled with mansions. The houses weren't exactly bigger than our house but they were polished somehow: the hedges were neatly trimmed, the cars shone in the dim evening light, and the front yards were clear of the clutter which took up permanent residence in the Montez home.

I felt conspicuous, like one of the residents may call the cops on the two teenagers riding a motorcycle through this pristine society. But to my surprise, Troy turned into a long driveway which wound its way around sculpted bushes. The house looming in front of us was in complete darkness but I could make out a large wooden door with an ornate knocker. When Troy killed the engine, I dismounted the bike and slowly took my helmet off. "What is this place?"

He made his way to the front door, jangling some keys, and I slowly followed him. "My house."

I placed a hand on his arm as he unlocked the door. "You live here? What do your parents do? I didn't think a sports coach earned _that_ much."

He laughed as he ushered me inside and locked the door behind us. "They don't. My mom's just a nurse on the maternity ward. But about ten years ago, my grandfather died and left his money to us. So here we are. I'm afraid my bike and leather don't exactly fit in with the Audis and Mercedes on this side of town."

I turned around to take in the hallway. Well, it was more like a lobby, with a large staircase curving to the left and a long hallway straight ahead. The walls were covered in large family portraits, small school pictures, and photographs of Troy's basketball achievements. I noticed that there was a lack of photos of Troy playing the piano. I stepped closer to a small photo of Troy's family, evidently somewhere exotic on vacation. He looked younger and happier, maybe thirteen or fourteen. His mom and dad looked happy and friendly and not at all like they would pressure their son into business school.

He stood beside me and sighed. "God, that feels like a lifetime ago."

"I didn't know you have a sister."

"That's Katie. I think Jo's in her class. I guess I haven't been much of a brother recently."

"You have every right to take some time to figure out who you are. And when you know, you'll be a better brother than you were before. But by the time that happens, she could be seventeen and trust me, big brothers are a pain in the ass."

He rolled his eyes and pulled me into his side, kissing my temple. "Ha ha."

Before I could reply, the doorbell rang and Troy glanced at his watch. "Just in time." He opened the door to a delivery guy who handed over three pizza boxes and Troy gave him several notes including a pretty generous tip judging from the ecstatic look on his face. With pizzas in hand, Troy turned to me and grabbed my hand. "Hungry?"

"Starving." I allowed him to lead me up the stairs to a large room with wide windows and a piano in the centre. Our usual plaid blanket was laid on the floor to the side with a couple of plates and glasses. We took off our jackets and sat down on the blanket.

I gestured to the pizzas. "Real pizzas as opposed to leftovers? Does this mean we're official?"

He shrugged as he poured some orange juice for each of us. "I like to think so. I like being with you."

I sipped some juice to hide my blush. "I like being with you, too. Hey, where are your parents, by the way?"

He bit into a piece of pizza and rolled his eyes. "At my grandparents' in Santa Fe and Katie is at a sleepover. And I thought it would be nice to have a real date somewhere other than the lake."

I nodded slowly as I bit into a piece of pepperoni. "It's great here. Oh, you can have the pineapple. I'm not a fan. Pineapple on pizza causes literal fights at our house because no one can agree on it."

He pulled a face and pushed the box away. "Pass. I only ordered it because I didn't know your favourite topping. Feel free to take it home to Noah. I'm sure it'll make a great mid morning snack."

I laughed and felt a wonderful heat spread through my body when I saw the easy smile brightening his face. He teased my siblings, but it was just teasing. There was no contempt or malice. In fact, his teasing seemed to stem from a kind of respect for my family. I had no idea what Noah had said to him in the yard that day and, honestly, I didn't want to. All I knew was that my siblings liked Troy, even if they wouldn't admit it, and Troy accepted my siblings.

When we finished eating, Troy pushed the empty plates and pizza boxes to the side and we lay down facing each other, our fingers interlocked like a zip. "So, what's the deal with music and your family? Everyone plays an instrument but no one wants to study it?"

I sighed. "I have no idea. I think Maddie had a friend who played the flute and wanted to learn, too. Noah wanted to learn an instrument to be like his big sister and Mom and Dad decided it's a good thing to do. You know, the discipline, the concentration, the act of listening. It's not compulsory. Mom and Dad's only rule is that we have to play for two months to try it. But no one's given up yet."

Troy nodded slowly. "That's pretty smart. And do you guys rehearse together?"

"Well, sometimes. We haven't rehearsed much since the accident. And with twelve kids, including Maddie in college, it's kind of hard to get everyone in the same room at the same time."

He laughed. "Should've seen that coming. Well, if it's possible, I'd love to hear you guys together one day."

I rolled my eyes. "We are not that good. Trust me."

He sat up straighter and held his hand out to me. "Come here."

He led me over to the piano and we sat down on the stool, our legs touching. He lifted the lid and lightly trailed his fingers over the ivory, not playing a single key. "Um, so this piano is pretty old. Not gonna lie, it looks much better than yours. Please note the lack of car pedals and planks of wood. But it sounds awful."

"Worse than Ms Darbus singing?" I joked.

He quirked an eyebrow and pressed one key. I had no idea what vague note it was supposed to be. "Oh," I whispered. "I see."

He nodded slowly. "I think the lack of maintenance is my parents' method of driving me away from the piano."

"And I'm guessing it's not working?"

"Not at all. Anyway, would you like to hear me play? You know, properly. No siblings or parents or Chad."

I nodded slowly. "You know I've wanted to hear you play for a really long time."

"Good. Well, small warning: I haven't played in front of anybody for well over a year so this might be awful. Are you ready?"

He pressed a few keys and let the sounds fade to silence. His hands moved quickly but gracefully and a flawless tune echoed around the the music room until the rest of the world faded to nothing. The tune was slow and calming. It was Bach or maybe Mozart. Since discovering Emilie Autumn, I hadn't listened to classical composers much. But it was so obviously _Troy_. He'd obviously put his own spin on the song and no matter who originally composed it, I couldn't imagine it any other way. He didn't look at me while he played, instead staring intently at the ivory keys he was so in love with.

As he continued playing, I silently stood up and went over to my bag to retrieve my iPad.

He stopped playing and said, "What are you doing?"

I sat down next to him and gestured to the piano. "Keep going. I want to listen to this again when I get home."

I opened the camera on my iPad and started recording Troy as he continued playing. He was focussed and passionate and he seemed calmer than he had ever been since we met. The music was sweet and calming but turned and twisted in unexpected ways.

When the final notes rang out, I stopped recording and lowered my iPad. "Troy," I whispered.

"I was a little rusty on the first pre chorus and I always struggle on the third bar of the second chorus but-"

I pulled him closer and kissed him, effectively cutting him off. I pulled back and laughed quietly. "God, shut up. That was amazing. I don't care that you think it wasn't perfect because it was just you. The real you. I love…"

When I trailed off, he lifted his head, clearly wondering how I would finish the sentence. And it was so obvious: of course I knew how I _should_ finish the sentence. But then I remembered Mom's concerns about us rushing into things. The last time I said _I love you_ to a guy, the novelty seemed to wear off as soon as the SOLD sign was put up in our Indiana home.

Of course I loved Troy. There wasn't really a specific moment with fireworks and an angelic choir. I fell in love slowly, not noticing until I watched Troy play his battered old piano, the only true Troy there was. And then it was all so obvious that this was where we were heading: that bad first impression, our fights, Troy telling me so honestly that he would never make me feel guilty for my family commitments, that first kiss at the lake.

Of course I was in love with Troy Bolton.

Feeling self conscious, I gestured to the piano. "I love that song."

He gave me a strange look as he spoke and I wondered if he knew my true feelings. Lord knew it was difficult to gage Troy's feelings for me. "I'm glad you do. It's one of my favourite pieces. Well, after seven years of playing it, I've added a few Bolton quirks and this piano doesn't exactly do it justice." He rubbed the top of the piano the way you'd pet faithful dog.

"You're good. Really good. And I'm not just saying that because I get to make out with you. San Francisco are idiots if they turn you down. Have you heard about that summer programme yet?"

He shook his head. "The deadline isn't for another month yet." He glanced over his shoulder at the forgotten plates and food and turned back to me. "Will you play with me?"

Without saying a word, I stood up and got my violin from the plaid mat. I took it out of its battered case and joined Troy back at the piano. "Fair warning: this isn't going to sound good. I don't play with people outside of my family."

"Ella," he began, wrapping an arm around my waist, "this isn't an audition for the San Francisco Orchestra. I just want to make music with you."

I nodded. "Okay. Well, what are we playing?"

Troy paused and scratched the back of his neck. "I guess I didn't think that part through. Let's just see what happens."

I rested my iPad on the piano shelf and set it to selfie mode so I could record us playing together. I then twisted slightly so that I didn't elbow Troy ever time I moved the bow and played a few notes, testing the sound. "Let's go."

Troy started playing first, a tune that sounded vaguely like 'She Will Be Loved' by Maroon 5 but it was hard to tell. After a minute, I slowly pulled the bow against the strings but as I'd never possessed perfect pitch, it was hard for me follow Troy's medley. It sounded awful, full of clashing notes and different tempos. I eventually broke off and collapsed onto Troy's shoulder, laughing loudly.

He chuckled but kept playing, increasing the tempo until the song sounded more like a nursery rhyme than a Maroon 5 classic. He started singing along, "I don't mind spending everyday…"

I laughed even harder and my stomach started cramping. Troy was an amazing guy in every way. Except singing. I knew I wasn't exactly Mariah Carey but Troy definitely wasn't winning a Grammy any time soon.

Before I could respond though, a voice said, "Troy, thank goodness you're here, I- Oh."

Troy tensed instantly and took his hands away from the keys. I turned in my seat to see Troy's father standing in the doorway, holding some sheets of paper. The similarities with Troy were uncanny: the same height and broad shoulders, the same chin and jawline, and if there was any doubt they were related, Mr Bolton's blue eyes proved it.

"Troy, who's this?" he asked quietly as he stepped closer.

Troy closed the lid of the piano and even stopped the camera on my iPad. "Gabriella Montez, my girlfriend."

It was a pretty awkward situation to say the least but I couldn't help feeling happiness flood my veins when Troy called me his girlfriend for the first time.

I stood up and held out my hand. "It's great to meet you, Mr Bolton."

He shook my hand and narrowed his eyes slightly, almost as if he was sizing me up. Which he probably was. "Did you say Montez? Is your father Greg-"

"Professor of philosophy? Yeah. I'm sorry if he talks about Nietzsche and nothing else. It's a banned topic of conversation in our house."

"No, that's not it. Are you really one of twelve children?"

I nodded. "I'm number three." I held up my left wrist to show him the tattoo of the Roman numeral I'd got for my sixteenth birthday. Troy was amazed that I had a tattoo but he loved the story: how Maddie got the Roman numeral of one tattooed on her rib when she was eighteen, Noah got the number two on his right shoulder when he was sixteen so it was only natural that I would follow lead. We all knew that Nate and Tommy were researching tattoo artists in Albuquerque for numbers four and five.

However, Mr Bolton didn't seem quite so impressed and I slowly lowered my hand.

"Wow," he muttered but he didn't exactly seem impressed. Instead, I felt like a bug stuck to the corner of his windscreen.

Realising that he didn't like me and probably never would, I couldn't help myself and said, "Yeah, our two bedroom apartment gets pretty crowded."

A look of horror washed over his face. "Two bedrooms? Twelve kids in two bedrooms! That's just-"

"She's being sarcastic, Dad," Troy interrupted, not even looking our way.

Mr Bolton narrowed his eyes at me and I only shrugged in response, knowing that nothing I did was going to impress him.

"So, what did you want?" Troy snapped.

Mr Bolton held the papers out to Troy who threw them on the lid of the piano without so much of glancing at them. "I spoke with Professor Carlton who gave me this reading list for his Introduction to Economics class. He's also recommended some papers and videos that are available online."

"Wonderful," Troy said sarcastically.

Mr Bolton sighed. "Troy, I am trying to give you a great opportunity here."

"Gabriella, we're leaving," Troy mumbled.

I rushed to pack away my iPad and violin and we left without another word to his father. I stopped him midway down the stairs. "I forgot my jacket. You go ahead. I'll only be a minute." I ran back up to the music room to find Mr Bolton stood, staring at the discarded reading list. "I'm sorry, I forgot my jacket." I grabbed it from the forgotten blanket and stopped at the door. "You have a very talented son."

He ran a hand over his face. "I know. I wish he'd just give basketball training another chance. I mean, it might-"

"Basketball?" I asked incredulously. "You think I'm talking a sport where boys wear baggy shorts and fling balls, hoping for a point on a scoreboard?"

He frowned and crossed his arms. "Basketball was the most important thing to Troy and he lost it."

I shrugged. "Maybe. But I was talking about the piano. He's remarkably talented with the piano. Goodnight Mr Bolton. It was nice meeting you."

When I got outside, Troy was already on his bike with the engine running and he silently handed me my helmet. The second I wrapped my arms around his waist, he sped off. He drove much faster and more dangerously than he usually did with me. But I let him. I let him do whatever he needed to deal with his father interrupting our date.

Unsurprisingly, we pulled up at the lake and Troy climbed off the bike and marched down to the shore. I took my helmet off but just sat on the bike, letting him have some space. I watched him bend down and throw several rocks into the lake. This wasn't skipping stones, this was hurling boulders.

After a while, I sat down on the log where we sat after our first swim together and Troy eventually joined me. I immediately wrapped my arm around his waist and rested my other hand on his knee but I stayed silent, knowing he'd talk when he was ready.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, rubbing his hand over his eyes.

I laughed quietly. "It's not your fault."

"Yeah, but all I wanted was to have a quiet date and to play some music with the girl I love," he ranted.

I slowly took my hands away from him and frowned down at my feet. I wasn't sure that Troy even realised he'd said those words but I couldn't focus on anything else. Troy loved me. All of that anxiety earlier that evening when I'd almost told him my feelings was over nothing.

"...and he just storms in to talk about a reading list. Give me a break."

I looked up at him. "Do you mean that?"

"Ella, you were there. You heard it all."

"No, what you said before that," I whispered.

Realisation crossed his face and he took a deep breath. "Oh. That. Well, um, yes. I love you, Gabriella."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and tugged on the hairs at the base of his neck. "I love you, too."

I leaned closer and pressed my lips to his. We kissed slowly for a long time until I was short of breath but I refused to pull away. His tongue roamed around my mouth and I couldn't help moaning quietly against him. One of Troy's hands pressed into the small of my back and the other slowly slid beneath the skirt of my dress, giving me plenty of time to say no. But no way in hell was I saying no.

I slowly pulled back and shared a smile with him. "I want to," I whispered. "Just give me a minute?"

We both walked back to the bike and I saw Troy rummage in the storage compartment of his bike. I opened my bag and applied some lip gloss and then dug out the condom I kept in my wallet _just in case._ I turned around to see Troy had laid out a few towels and blankets and I sat down next to him.

He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled, looking shy for the first time since we met. "I have to ask: have you…?"

I shook my head. "No."

He breathed out. "Oh thank god."

"Would it have mattered?"

"Not at all, I just don't want to think about the Lawbreaker touching you."

I laughed and pulled him down so we were lying next to each other. I held up the condom. "I'm protected."

He held another one up. "Me too. Why do you have one?"

"It's pretty cliche, really. Mom told me that she and Dad don't want any of us having sex too early but they want us to be safe. Yours?"

"Health class last year."

I paused and looked up at the sky, absentmindedly tracing my fingers around his palm. "Do you really want to do this?"

He leaned up on his elbow to look down at me. "You're kidding, right?" I've wanted to do this since our first kiss. And then you did that that thing with your tongue a few weeks ago and my god, of course I want this." He grew quiet and brushed some hair from my face. "Do you want this?"

I grinned and silently pulled him down to kiss him, instantly pushing my tongue into his mouth, doing the thing he so clearly loved. Meanwhile, he moved the skirt of my dress out of the way and moved his hand up and down my thigh. I broke off the kiss, honestly gasping for air, and he moved his kisses down to my neck. I'd never asked Troy if he was a virgin but his hand certainly wasn't acting like a virgin's except when- "Ow!"

Troy instantly lifted his head, his eyes wide with concern. "Is this better?"

I shifted slightly and winced. "I think so?"

I'd imagined what it would be like to lose my virginity plenty of times and for a while, I'd thought, or assumed, that I would lose it to Justin. I wasn't naive and knew it wouldn't be perfect, but I never thought it would be downright awkward. At least not with Troy. We'd made out countless times, he'd seen me in my unsexy underwear, and we'd even got to second base a couple of times. And aside from all of that, he knew me and I knew him. There was nothing left to hide.

"This?"

I couldn't find any words. I'd had straight A's since preschool, I spoke four languages including Latin, and I was hoping to study prelaw at Stanford University. Suffice to say, I was pretty smart. But I couldn't find any words. There was no language to capture the feelings Troy was giving me.

And then I realised I could touch him, too. With shaking hands, I unbuckled his belt and tugged on his jeans. He took his hand away from me to slip off his jeans and I actually whimpered. But then I understood what he was doing and I slipped out of my dress and underwear. The cool air hit my skin, causing goose bumps to erupt on my skin. But before I could reach for a blanket or feel self conscious of my naked body, Troy was touching me again and I wasn't cold anymore. I tentatively touched him and he shuddered, giving me a smile.

Things were different than I'd expected. Awkward, yes, and I assumed there would be more trial-and-error moments to come. But it was better than I imagined. Intense. Emotional. Stronger. Even though I'd never had sex with Justin, he'd never made me feel this way; he'd never made me feel important and wanted.

I blindly found one of the condoms and gave it to Troy, silently signalling I was ready.

Afterwards, we lay tangled in the blankets and towels, slightly out of breath and a bit sweaty despite the cool night air. I rested my head on his chest and I felt him twirling my hair around his fingers.

He tightened his arms around me. "You know, for a girl who's never done this before, where did you learn to do that other thing with your tongue?"

I twisted my head to send him a mock glare. "If you must know, _Cosmo_ is surprisingly helpful." I leaned closer to kiss him and I pulled back to look down at him, running my hand over his jawline. "I never asked: have you done this before?"

He seemed to consider how to answer. "No. I've got to third base before. But you're my first homerun."

I couldn't help but giggle and kiss him again. I rested my head back on his chest and linked my fingers with his. When I pictured losing my virginity, I didn't think it would be on the shore of a lake, but in that moment, I knew it was always supposed to be with Troy.

"I love you," I whispered after a long silence.

"I love you, too." He paused, running his fingers down my arm. "I wish we could stay here forever."

I lifted his wrist to squint at his watch. "Me too. But I have a curfew."

We got dressed and Troy drove us back to my house, driving much slower than usual. I guessed he didn't want the night to be over just like I didn't. When we pulled up outside my house, we both dismounted and I immediately scanned my house, looking for any of my siblings. Before I could finish my search, Troy turned me around and pulled me in for a kiss, leaning back against his bike.

His arms snaked around my waist and he pressed his hands into the small of my back, pushing our bodies closer together. After a while, I pulled back and laughed breathlessly. "I should go."

He pressed his face into the crook of my neck. "No," he muttered.

I pushed on his shoulders and stepped back, giving him a stern look. "Yes, Bolton." I pressed a final chaste kiss to his lips. "Goodnight, Troy."

"I'll call you," he yelled as I walked up the path to the front door.

"You better," I shouted over my shoulder.

I closed the door behind me and hesitated for a moment before I entered the lounge. Surely everyone would know. There would be something different about me, a neon light or a tattoo on my forehead, telling the whole world that I'd lost my virginity.

But when I turned the corner to see Dad watching TV and Nate, Tommy, and Alex tapping away on their laptops, they barely glanced in my direction.

Dad turned the volume down on the TV and smiled up at me. "How was your evening?"

I glanced at my brothers. "Good. I met Troy's dad."

Dad pulled a face. "I've never spoken to him but he seems a bit too serious for my liking."

"We didn't exactly see eye to eye. Anyway, it's been a long day." I kissed his cheek. "Goodnight."

As I climbed the flights of stairs to my bedroom, I relived the evening, moment by moment: the food, the piano, and every glorious second of our time at the lake. I paused outside of my bedroom and bit my lip. Justin and I had been dating for four months before we said _I love you_ and, looking back, I realised it was all a lie. Well, not a lie, exactly. It's just that I didn't realise what love could feel like.

And what Justin made me feel was nothing compared to what I felt for Troy.

Noah opened his bedroom door and quirked an eyebrow. "How was Troy?"

I knew I was blushing and from the look Noah gave me, I knew he'd figured that something had happened between us. But I didn't care. "He was great. I'm pretty tired. I'll see you in the morning."

I went into my room and leaned back against the door, hugging my violin to my chest. When we first got together, Troy asked what would happen to us after graduation and I didn't know then. But I realised that Stanford and Harvard didn't matter as long as Troy was with me.


	16. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey, sorry this has taken so long. Enjoy x**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

It took longer than he expected but a few days later, his mother said, "Your father tells me you have a girlfriend."

Troy prodded his potatoes and nodded. "Yep."

"Well, how long have you been dating?" she asked, clearly annoyed that he hadn't shared the news earlier.

He lifted his gaze to see his mother, father, and even Katie waiting for his reply. "Six weeks? Maybe eight? I don't know."

"And when can we meet her?"

If the short interaction with his father was any indication, a meeting with the rest of his family wouldn't go well. And he'd do his damndest to protect Gabriella from his parents' criticisms. "I'm not sure. Her mom's pretty sick and she needs to look after her brothers and sisters."

His parents shared a look. "Yes, your father said she comes from a...big family. But I'm sure she could spare an hour or two to meet her boyfriend's parents."

Oh, Troy could just imagine his father arriving in Santa Fe late Saturday night and telling his mother he had a girlfriend. A girlfriend with eleven brothers and sisters. And a tattoo. It would have gone down with all the grace of a brick falling from the Empire State Building. They were just itching to meet Gabriella and list every single reason he shouldn't date her.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll ask but I can't guarantee anything."

As promised, the following morning, he waited by the space in the school parking lot he knew the Montez's liked to leave their truck. He'd already been at school an hour, playing the piano in the auditorium. In fact, he would have stayed a lot longer but he wanted to get the conversation over and done with.

Twenty minutes before the first bell was due, the rusty old truck pulled into the space, just like he'd predicted. Troy had never ridden in it but it looked like it would fall apart if a fly landed on the hood. Yet Gabriella assured him that Nate had been constantly tinkering with it since Maddie purchased the hunk of metal when she passed her driving test seven years ago. And if the Montez piano was anything to go on, the truck was probably safer than a child's tricycle.

Alex hopped out of the truck first and glared at Troy. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Gabriella had assured Troy countless times that all of her siblings did honestly like him. Maybe it was because Alex was Gabriella's biological brother, but for whatever reason, he gave Troy a harder time than the others.

Tommy jumped down, clutching a rather impressive model of a DNA double helix. "He goes to school here. Why else would he be here?"

Gabriella greeted him with a smile and a kiss on the cheek, ignoring her brothers. "Not that I'm complaining but I thought I wasn't going to see you until free period?"

Nate patted her shoulder as he walked past. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to play tonsil tennis at the lake after school."

Gabriella opened her mouth and a bunch of Spanish syllables tumbled out. She spoke with the grace that only comes with fluency and Troy vaguely recognised the words for _cheese_ and _donkey_ but nothing else. She breathed out deeply, watching her brothers walk into school. "I'm sorry," she said eventually. "Their bark is-"

"-worse than their bite. I know," he said quietly. "I need to talk to you."

She paused and frowned. "Is something wrong?"

He held both of her hands and shook his head. "Not at all. In fact, my only complaint is that it's been several days since you've done the thing with your tongue." He chuckled when she blushed and smacked his chest. "But in all seriousness, my parents want to meet you."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, well, that's fine. When?"

He frowned. "But you met my dad. My parents aren't going to like you."

"I know. And, no offence but, I'm not their biggest fan, either. But if they want to meet me, that's okay."

He sighed. "Well, what about tonight? We might as well get it over with."

She let go of his hands and started walking towards the main entrance. "I'm glad you didn't say that on Saturday night."

Troy laughed to himself as he caught up to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Let me guess: you've got to go home first for yoga?"

She smiled up at him as they walked through the large glass doors of East High. "You know me so well."

She let go of his hand when they approached her locker and she began organising her books for the day. He leaned on the locker next to hers and watched her easy movements. She barely glanced at her books as she sorted them, somehow knowing each book from touch alone.

She looked different somehow since they'd had sex. And as cliche as it sounded, it was so much more than sex. He remembered laughing immaturely in the back of the classroom when his freshman health teacher told them that being with someone was more than just naked girls and blowjobs. Perhaps she hadn't said it in those exact words, but he understood it perfectly now. Gabriella had made him feel amazing physically on Saturday night but it was the way she so obviously loved him with no expectations that made it special for him.

"You're doing it again, sweetie," she mumbled as she flicked through her math notebook.

He focussed in on the present and frowned down at his boots. "Doing what?"

She met his gaze and smirked. "You're thinking about Saturday again."

He glanced at some passing students and stepped closer to her. "What do you mean 'again'?"

She closed her locker and hugged her books to her chest. She leaned closer to him. "You have a I'm-thinking-about-having-sex-with-Gabriella look."

Before he could respond, the warning bell rang and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading towards their homeroom.

After school, Troy drove Gabriella back to her house and she allowed him to play the piano in the basement while she did her yoga. As usual, he opened his composition book to the piece he planned to play for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He still hadn't been invited for an audition but he knew he had to finish the arrangement soon.

He slipped his pencil behind his ear and allowed his fingers to move over the keys without so much as glancing at his hands. He scribbled down a couple more notes and then started from the beginning. He stopped halfway through and erased the notes he'd just written. He tried to focus, really, but all he could think about was introducing Gabriella to his parents. He didn't exactly care what his parents thought about his choices, but he loved Gabriella and he didn't want her to be another reason his parents would be disappointed in him.

He rested his elbows on the keys and rubbed his eyes, allowing the harsh sound of conflicting notes to echo around the basement.

"That was good but I wouldn't recommend the elbow thing. That sounded awful."

Troy turned around to see Greg Montez leaning against the wall. How long had he been standing there? Long enough, evidently.

"Oh, um, hi Mr Montez. Gabriella said I could play the piano," he said slowly.

Greg shrugged as he pulled up a chair and sat facing Troy. "I don't care. And, please, call me Greg." He paused. "We haven't had a chance to talk since you and Gabi started dating."

Troy glanced at his composition book, wondering what there was to 'talk' about. Did he know that Troy had slept with his daughter? Of course not. He couldn't. Right? "Are you going to beat me up?"

Greg laughed. "Beat you up? I'm a philosophy professor. We're hardly known for throwing suckerpunches."

"Yeah but you raised Noah. He could snap my spine like a twig."

"I never said my children wouldn't beat you up. Nate and Tommy have black belts in jiu jitsu and Alex is pretty...enthusiastic on the soccer field."

"Wonderful."

Greg laughed. "Calm down. They like you. Trust me. I know my children."

Troy slowly shut the lid of the piano, guessing he wouldn't get much more rehearsal time in. "Alex doesn't seem to."

The older mad shrugged. "Gabriella could've brought home Prince William and Alex still would've hated him. Don't take it personally. You make her happy and we all know that."

This was all a bit surreal. The first time Troy met Greg, he was _just Gabriella's friend_. But now he was Gabriella's boyfriend. They'd confessed their love for each other and even had sex. And here was Gabriella's father acknowledging how happy his daughter was.

Troy scratched the back of his neck. It was what he wanted to hear: Gabriella truly was happy being with him. But after unintentionally disappointing people for well over a year, he couldn't help doubting the sincerity of Greg's words. "Do you think so?"

Greg shrugged. "She's much happier than she ever was with the Lawbreaker." He momentarily slipped into Spanish, grumbling under his breath, and Troy could easily make out _dickhead_ among the jumbled syllables. Greg took a deep breath and continued, "And she's happier than she's been since the accident. And it's because of you."

Honestly, Troy could've cried. This was his first real meeting with a girlfriend's father and Greg was being so sincere. He wasn't being threatening or overprotective, although Troy suspected that was because he had eleven other sons and daughters who would protect Gabriella to the end. But more than that, he seemed grateful that Troy was the reason for Gabriella's happiness. Troy no longer cared that he didn't have many friends, or about his parents' approval, or even about the piano. All he cared about was being a part of Gabriella's family.

Greg gestured to the piano. "Gabi hasn't stopped talking about you playing a song for her."

Troy nodded slowly. "I'm glad she liked it."

"She says you want to go to a music conservatory," he said slowly.

He couldn't meet Greg's gaze. "I want to. I don't even know if I'm good enough. All I know is that I want to play all the time. But my parents-"

"-have other plans?" Greg finished.

Troy narrowed his eyes, trying to gage how Greg knew that.

He held his hands up. "Calm down. Gabi didn't speak a word. It was an educated guess. Do you really think my parents wanted me to leave the country and become a philosophy professor? They wanted me to inherit our corner store, selling newspapers."

Well, Troy would never have guessed that Greg, the man who was always so tense with worry about Maria, had gone against his parents' wishes. "So what happened?"

He smiled, looking so much like Gabriella and Alex. His skin was darker with more wrinkles, but there was no denying the resemblance. But Troy could even see parts of Greg in Gabriella's other siblings: Nate's quirked eyebrow, Jo rolling her eyes, and even little Eddie's way of absentmindedly tugging on the loose thread of his clothes. They may not be biologically related, but it was so clear they all took after their father.

"Well, I was pretty mad at my mom and dad for not supporting me and they were pretty mad at me for leaving. As soon as Maria and I crossed the border, I more or less forgot about my parents. I just wanted to learn more and more about philosophy and I was determined to teach it. And Maria...Well, she never once pressured me into contacting my parents." He sighed. "And then we got Maddie and I didn't care about our disagreements anymore because I wanted the whole world to know that I had a daughter."

"So what's the point? How does this help me with my parents?"

Greg shrugged. "Maybe it won't. But I'm now a tenured philosophy professor, working with some of the most renowned people in my field. And if I hadn't left El Salvador, I wouldn't have any of my children. And my parents know that. Troy, no matter what we like to believe, parents aren't always right. If you think a music conservatory is where you belong, then you should go."

For Troy, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music was some kind of magical land far, far away. And he was sure as hell going to try. He knew his chances of playing professionally as a concert pianist or as part of an orchestra were slim to none and maybe he would fail. But he had to try. He knew he had to try something and leave Albuquerque and just be himself. For once.

Before he could respond, Gabriella appeared at the door dressed in some blue skinny jeans, a white camisole, and a blue jacket. She narrowed her eyes at Greg. "What's going on?"

Greg stood up and held up his hands in surrender. "We were just catching up. You know me: I leave the interrogations to your brothers. Have a nice evening."

She kissed his cheek as he walked past. She walked towards Troy and sat down next to him, greeting him with a kiss. "I hope he went easy on you."

Troy laughed and ran his hand up and down her leg. "He was fine. Ready to go?"

They drove to Troy's house and pulled up in front of the mansion beside a sparkling Audi and a large Range Rover. He knew both cars were newer and more expensive than any vehicle owned by the Montez's. If Gabriella was bothered by it, she didn't say so. She dismounted and stepped closer to the door but he grasped her hand.

"Ella," he started.

She kissed him before he could finish. "It'll be fine. You don't grow up with eleven brothers and sisters without growing a thick skin. It's going to be fine."

Troy gave her the best smile he could muster and led her into the house. He pulled her down the corridor and they emerged into the large kitchen. His mom was at the oven and his father was tossing a salad at the island.

He glanced at his girlfriend. "Hi Mom, Dad."

His parents looked up from their stations and he noticed his mom flicked her gaze up and down.

"This is my girlfriend, Gabriella Montez," Troy continued quietly.

"It's great to finally meet you," Gabriella added, giving his parents a bright smile.

Lucille Bolton wiped her hands on a cloth and stepped forward to shake Gabriella's hand. "It's good to meet you, too. Dinner will be ready in about five minutes."

Perhaps it was Troy's imagination but time seemed to slow down until each second was a decade and he felt so goddamn awkward. In his own house. Katie came downstairs and he introduced her to Gabriella. Unlike his parents, Katie seemed genuinely happy to meet Gabriella and she started talking about how Jo was one of the best soccer players Albuquerque East Middle School had ever seen.

"I mean, her tackling technique is pure genius," she gushed.

Gabriella laughed. "If you think Jo's good, just wait until you see my brother, Alex. He taught her everything she knows."

Thanks to Katie's non-stop chatter about soccer, the five minutes were soon over and they were all seated at the table, passing dishes to one another.

"So," Lucille began, "Jack told me that you moved here from Indiana?"

Gabriella took a sip of her orange juice and nodded. "Midland, actually. It's the smallest town you'll ever see. If you blink, you'll just end up in Jasonville. We moved because my mom needs a new heart and the transplant list is better in this neck of the woods."

"Yes, Troy mentioned that your mom is sick. If there's anything we can do..." Jack responded quietly.

She shrugged. "Unfortunately, it's just a waiting game. But thank you very much."

"And, uh, how have you and your family settled into Albuquerque?" Lucille asked slowly, glancing at Troy.

Troy, in turn, glanced at Gabriella, trying to gage her reaction to his parents. He assumed she knew that the conversation was just a matter of politeness but he also knew her sarcasm was just as sharp as his. But for the moment, she patiently answered each question put to her in between her small bites of food.

She laughed quietly and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Well, I never thought Montez's would survive in the city but I think Albuquerque is where we need to be. I mean, forgetting my mom's heart and the transplant list, East High's academics seem to finally be challenging enough for Noah and Alex is actually looking girls in the eye. And, well, if I hadn't moved here, I never would have met Troy."

Even though he was with his family and his parents were giving his girlfriend a police-worthy interrogation, Troy smiled and looked over at the girl he loved. "And my life would be much quieter."

She rolled her eyes and elbowed him. "Troy."

"So," Jack interrupted, glancing surreptitiously at Lucille, "do you plan to stay in Albuquerque for college?"

"Dad," Troy started in a warning tone, "this isn't a college interview."

Gabriella rested a hand on his arm. "It's okay, Troy." She took another serving of salad as Katie passed the bowl to her. "It's actually pretty unlikely I'll stick around after graduation."

"But your family-" Lucille started, almost spitting the word.

"Will be supporting me in all my future plans, no matter where I am geographically," Gabriella replied, a little bit condescendingly.

Lucille narrowed her eyes and shifted in her seat. "So where do you plan to go to college?"

Perhaps Troy's parents expected Gabriella to go to community college or just wait tables for the rest of her life, but their shock was undeniable when she said without missing a beat, "Stanford."

Jack cocked his head to the side. "Stanford University? As in the Stanford Cardinals?"

Trust his father to completely disregard the prestigious academia and esteemed faculty in favour of sports.

Troy watched as Gabriella pushed her empty plate away and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Actually, Stanford University as in Elizabeth Green, one of the most respected law professors on the East Coast."

A deafening silence fell over the table. As Troy had predicted, Gabriella had pushed it too far. It wasn't what she said, it was how she said it, so sassy and defiant, so eager to prove to his parents that the Montez's weren't useless hillbillies. His parents looked equally shocked at her evident ambition and insulted that someone had used that tone in their own home.

"Law?" Jack asked eventually.

Gabriella nodded, not meeting his gaze. "Prelaw to be exact. And then I plan to attend Harvard law school, focussing on environmental law."

"Very impressive plans. Those schools are quite a distance from Albuquerque."

Before she could reply, a shrill ring pierced the tension and she slipped her cell phone from her pocket. Glancing at the screen, she said, "It's Noah. I should take this. Please excuse me."

She disappeared into the hall and Troy glared at his parents. "What is your problem with her? Could you not try to get along?"

Lucille glared back just as fiercely. "Katie, go to your room."

"But I haven't finished," she protested.

"Then finish it in your room." When Katie was out of earshot, Lucille continued, "We are only thinking about you."

"Of course you are," Troy mumbled sarcastically.

"Your mother's right," Jack interjected. "With all her family commitments, your relationship may not leave much time for studying and it could seriously harm your grades. And if she's going to Stanford and Harvard, a long distance relationship would only put your future in further jeopardy."

His future? At that moment, he was just trying to get through the dinner. And a long distance relationship? Was that really at the centre of his parents' concerns? He wondered how his parents would react if he told them that the school he was desperate to attend was a mere 35.5 miles away from Stanford University. No long distance issues there. If everything went to plan.

"Dad," Troy said in a warning tone.

"And twelve children," his mother hissed. "How can anyone possibly control twelve children? And no wonder her mother's got heart problems. All those pregnancies would put the healthiest body under a lot of pressure."

"Mom," Troy said, harsher than he'd spoken to his dad.

Honestly, he knew exactly why they didn't like Gabriella before they'd even met her: it was a part of his life they couldn't control. And, what's more, she was the complete opposite to what they wanted in a future daughter-in-law. They wanted a U of A student preferably heading into teaching or nursing, someone who wouldn't want Troy to leave the state, someone who would encourage him to study business.

They wanted him to be happy, to be in love, but only if that happiness fell into their own plans.

"Actually," Gabriella began as she stepped back into the room and stood behind her empty chair, clearly ending the evening, "as you're so concerned about my mom and dad's parental skills, they have remarkable control over us. Ask them where any of us are and they'd get it right every single time. I'm here, Noah's gone to the planetarium, Alex is studying with a friend on Rose Avenue, and Nate has a date at the movies. Really, there's only one of us they don't know about."

Troy saw a muscle in his mother's jaw twitch as she said, "One troublemaker in twelve?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Well, it's my sister, Maddie. She's a premed student at U of A on a full merit scholarship. And as she's an adult with her class schedule, her waitressing job, her volunteer placement at the hospital, her own apartment, and a boyfriend, it's a bit unreasonable to know where she is every minute of everyday. Don't you think?"

Lucille slowly moved her gaze to her lap and Jack wouldn't look away from his wife, but Troy couldn't tell whether he was embarrassed to look elsewhere or silently chastising her behaviour.

Troy slowly stood up and gently placed a hand on the small of Gabriella's back. "Gabriella-"

"Oh, and by the way," she continued as if he hadn't spoken, "about how it's no wonder my mom has heart problems? Because of the pressure pregnancies have on the body? Ten of us are adopted. She was only pregnant with me and my brother, Alex. Twice. Like you with Troy and Katie." She gave Troy a small smile. "It was Noah on the phone. Mom's fallen sick again so I need to go now."

Troy dropped her home and although she kissed him goodbye, she didn't say anything. He went back home and slammed the door shut behind him, signalling his return. He had stomped up five stairs when his mom and dad emerged from the kitchen.

"Troy," Jack started, "we have to talk."

Troy spun around and glared down at his parents. "About what? About how you didn't give Gabriella a chance?"

"She wasn't exactly pleasant to us, either," Lucille said through tight lips.

"She was defending her family," he exploded.

"Troy David Alexander Bolton, don't you dare talk to us that way," Lucille shouted. "We just think you should be associating with different types of people."

Oh. Now he understood perfectly. It had nothing to do with Gabriella having a large family or that she wasn't going to U of A. It was because they weren't rich. Clearly, the Montez's had enough money to comfortably raise twelve children, but not enough to own Audis and Mercedes.

"Like who, exactly? Amanda Shepherd? For god's sake, you don't even know the Montez's. Given your reaction, people would think I brought home a stripper instead a genius girl hoping to go to Stanford," he shouted back, just as loudly. He turned around and marched up the rest of the staircase.

"Troy," Jack called, but Troy ignored him.

Troy slammed his bedroom door shut and punched the wall. He threw his jacket carelessly over his desk chair and turned the volume up on his CD player. Mozart's _Requiem_ started blasting out of the speakers, loud enough to send a message to his parents.

He collapsed onto his bed and pulled a pillow onto his face, releasing a muffled scream. Not for the first time, he wondered how different his life would be had he not given up on basketball. Would so be dating Gabriella? Would he still be pursuing music studies? Or would he be dating a cheerleader and looking forward to trying out for the U of A Redhawks?

In that life, he knew it would all be so easy. His parents wouldn't have to force their hopes onto him because he'd already be living it. They would be proud of him and he wouldn't be hiding his college brochures under his bed.

And while it would all be easy, he wouldn't have Gabriella. And no amount of family pride would make that okay.

He vaguely heard a knock on his door and he took the pillow away from his face to yell, "Go away."

Despite this, the door opened the volume of his stereo was turned down. He leaned up on one elbow to see Katie stood at the bottom of his bed, her arms folded across her chest.

He rolled his eyes and flopped back down. "Go away, squirt."

He felt the mattress shift as Katie sat on the edge of his bed. "Hey, we have the same parents. I'm just as stubborn as you are."

Troy reluctantly sat up and faced his little sister. Twelve years old, a straight B student, and future olympic soccer player. While he had spent the last year moping about how much the accident had changed his life, he finally realised it had changed Katie's too. Obviously, he wasn't the same brother he once was but more than that, their parents weren't the same, either.

"I liked Gabriella," she finally said.

He couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I'm glad somebody did."

"Yeah, and the way she spoke to Mom and Dad? She'll nail law school."

He nodded slowly. "She will."

Katie shifted a bit closer to him. "Hey, Troy? You know when you go to college?"

"Hmmm?"

"Are you coming back?"

It wasn't her words, but her tone that made him sit up straighter. Out of all the questions he expected her to ask about college, it wasn't that. "Of course. Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't think you'd be rushing to deal with Mom and Dad again."

"Hey, it'll be okay." For the life of him, he wasn't sure if he believed himself but he knew Katie needed to hear it. Finally, after way too long, he was finally giving Katie the 'miraculous crap' that Gabriella had talked about. "No matter what happens with Mom and Dad, you'll always be a reason for me to come home." He paused and shook his head. "I can't believe I just said that. I sound like a Hallmark card."

Katie laughed and grabbed a pillow, starting to hit him with it. Troy grabbed his own weapon and began fighting back just as fiercely. After a couple of minutes, they collapsed beside each other, laughing uncontrollably.

She looked up at his bedroom ceiling, holding the pillow to her chest. "What is it about Mom and Dad? Why do you hate them?"

"I don't," he admitted. "That's the thing. It's just that...Well…"

She twisted her head to look at him. "Well, what?"

"If I tell you something, you have to promise you won't tell Mom and Dad."

She didn't say anything, only held up her pinkie which Troy hooked his own pinkie around, a silent confirmation of her promise.

"I want to go to music school, not U of A. I mean, I did. You know I did. But with my knee and I can't play ball anymore, it's not the same. And I just love the piano so much. It makes me happy," Troy explained, feeling lighter now that someone besides Gabriella knew about his plans for the future.

"Why are Mom and Dad so hung up on U of A?"

He breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't question his plans. "They love me. That's what makes it so hard: I know they're doing it all because they love me. But it's not what I want."

Katie gently kicked his shin. "Just remember your baby sister when you're a rich and famous pianist."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Katie sat up and frowned down at him. "What for? You haven't forgotten me yet."

Rather embarrassingly, Troy felt hot tears sting his eyes and he quickly wiped them away. "I've been an awful brother. You know, since the accident. And I hate myself for it."

"Hey, I haven't exactly been the best sister. This is longest conversation we've had in over a year. And that's okay. I think we've both had some growing up to do. But I like this version of us."

Troy paused and ran his hand through his hair. "Gabriella tells me that when you turn seventeen, I'll be a pain in the ass."

Katie laughed. "Don't underestimate yourself. You're a pain in the ass now. We'll be fine. I promise."


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"And then what happened?" Maddie asked, perched on the edge of her seat.

I shrugged. "Noah called, just like I told him to, and I asked Troy to bring me home."

"Does he know you used me as an excuse to leave?" Mom quirked an eyebrow as she sipped her tea.

"Not exactly. I didn't say anything but I think he guessed. And the best part, of course, is that when I went back into the room, his mom and dad were talking like we were a group of out of control neanderthals and that your heart problem is caused by twelve pregnancies."

"What did they say when you told them your hot older sister is white, blonde, and adopted?" Maddie laughed when Mom slapped her arm.

It had taken a long time but Maddie was finally visiting us. And whether she was an adult or not, Mom was still putting her in her place.

"Nothing. I had the last word and left while I could," I explained.

"Have you and Troy talked about what happened?" Maddie poured more tea into Mom's waiting cup.

I knew what both of them would say so I took a lot of interest in my bitten fingernails. "No."

"What?" they exclaimed at the same time.

"Are you kidding me?" Mom yelled.

"What are you thinking?" Maddie exclaimed.

I shifted in my chair and sighed. "Well, it's not that simple. I mean, what if Troy doesn't want to be with me because his parents don't like me?"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "From what I hear, he doesn't exactly care about his parents' opinions."

I knew she was right. She'd spent my entire life being right: she told me not to ride my bike so fast and I fell off and broke my wrist, told me not to wear too much make up and the kids in the seventh grade laughed at me. And god, in that moment, I was so pissed off that she was right once again.

"Maddie's right," Mom added. "You need to know how this will affect your relationship. But between us three ladies, having in laws who hate you is a walk in the park. It means you don't really have to try."

I laughed but rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks for the advice, Mom. I'll be sure to tell Grandma you said that."

Despite how my dad didn't talk to his parents for a long time, he finally got off his high horse when he and Mom adopted Nate and Tommy. They now had five children they were completely in love with and wanted to show us off to everyone. Even Dad's estranged parents. My grandparents apologised for the way they acted but there was still tension between them and Mom and we all knew it would never fully go away. Despite all of that, Grandma Florencia and Grandpa Alejandro treated us kids like we were the most important people in the world. And we loved them just as much.

I would just have to accept that there would always be tension when I was around Troy's parents. And I was okay with that. As long as Troy could accept it, too.

"Sorry to interrupt," Tommy said, hovering by the door with Sammy by his side. "We've been drawing and we wanted to show you what we've been doing."

Instead of heading over to Mom like he usually did, Sammy held his piece of paper out to Maddie. He was only two when Maddie left for college but it was clear that the distance hadn't harmed their relationship in his eyes. Maddie held the piece of paper and instantly smiled, never moving her gaze away from the drawing.

"Sammy," she started, "I know you're great with math like Noah and you're great with Gabi's yoga, and Mom tells me you've started helping Nate with some of his projects."

As usual, Sammy didn't say anything and didn't look at her.

"But between you and me, you're going to make an amazing artist someday." She finally held the drawing up to show me and Mom, revealing an illustration of our house back in Midland. But more than that, it was the picture we took on our last day with all of us, even Maddie, sat on the front steps. Just as the camera clicked, a bee stung Riley and so there were tears, tantrums, and someone (we're still not sure who) stood on Benji's hand, breaking two of his fingers. It was a moment full of sadness hope and chaos that follows the Montez's like a shadow.

And Sammy captured it all so perfectly.

"Oh, Sammy," Mom said, tears dripping down her cheeks. She held her arms wide and Sammy instantly climbed into her lap.

Tommy, who had been the family artist since he could finger paint, was beaming with pride. "I don't know why he wanted to draw something other than a map but when I gave him the book of maps, he just threw it down. It's like he's finally found a way to really convey his emotions. You should've seen him working. He's never looked so determined."

Mom held Sammy close, sobbing into his blonde hair, and Maddie just looked down at the drawing.

"Hey Maddie? Can I show you the start of my college application essay?" I asked quietly.

Tommy frowned. "I know you're organised but that's a bit premature."

"You didn't mention you'd started your essay," Mom added, looking at me suspisciously.

I rolled my eyes. "I figured you can't start too early."

Maddie got to her feet and handed the drawing to Tommy. I led her silently to my room and shut the door behind us. Before I said a word, I pressed play on my stereo and allowed Emilie Autumn's violin to echo around us, thwarting any possibility of people eavesdropping.

Maddie quirked an eyebrow as she sat down on my bed. "So what's the topic of your essay?"

I narrowed my eyes as I brought my desk chair closer and sat down in front of her. "You and I both know this isn't about college." I swallowed hard and glanced over at the photograph of Troy I'd placed on my bedside cabinet.

She followed my gaze. "That's Troy? Wow. He's got all sorts of gorgeous going on."

I didn't know what to say so I just looked down at my lap.

"Is something wrong?"

I lifted my head when I heard the concern in her voice. "No. It's nothing like that. But...Maddie, Troy and I slept together."

A grin slowly spread across her face. "I'm guessing you don't mean you took a nap?"

I laughed and shook my head. "No. I mean...we really slept together."

"Well, what was it like?"

I rolled my eyes. In many ways, Maddie was a completely different person to the Maddie from Indiana. But in other ways, she was still the same nosy Maddie we'd always known and loved.

"Good. I mean, it was better than I thought it'd be. It wasn't like the movies-"

"It never is," she scoffed.

"-but it didn't hurt."

Her eyes softened. "You know what that means? You did it right. It's not supposed to hurt. And, you know, the second time is much better."

I grinned and felt the heat rise in my neck.

"I have to say: I haven't met Troy yet but I'm glad you never had sex with the Lawbreaker," Maddie continued.

I grabbed a pillow and hit her with it. "Between you and me, I'm glad, too. Just don't tell anyone because Noah would never let me live it down."

Maddie laughed. "You know I wouldn't tell them this kind of stuff. I'm just glad you found someone special."

"I'm not saying he's my soulmate-"

"He doesn't have to be. But you really enjoyed your first time and that's the important thing. You're in high school. It doesn't matter whether you're together forever as long as you're happy now. You have the next seventy years to worry about everything else." She paused and looked down at her shoes. "My first time was with Jeremy and I've regretted it ever since."

I grabbed the pillow and hit her again. "Jeremy? As in 'why save the rainforest when you can fund oil rigs' Jeremy? Are you kidding me? You complain about the idea of me sleeping with Justin but your first time was with the Idiot?"

Maddie grabbed the pillow and hit me back. "I know, I know. Trust me, I'm not proud of it. But I was fifteen, I thought he was the one. To be honest, I wish I'd waited until Dan."

"You really like him, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." She paused and laughed quietly. "In a year or two, Jo will be in on these talks."

I laughed, thinking about all the e-mails and texts I'd sent to Maddie since she left Indiana and all the e-mails and texts I'd receive from Jo when I got to Stanford.

Before I could reply, there was a knock and Alex opened the door. "What'd I tell you? They're talking about guys."

Troy appeared behind Alex and frowned. "How can you tell?"

"They're alone. There's only one thing they talk about when they're alone. Besides, they get this weird look and-" He paused to shiver. "-it's creepy."

"Hey," I said as I stood up and hugged Troy. "What are you doing here?"

"As much as I love seeing you guys flirt, I have a novel to finish," Alex muttered before he left my room.

"He's writing a novel?" Troy asked in disbelief, looking between me and Maddie.

"Yes, it's a gripping tale spanning what? Forty one chapters at the last count about a fourteen year old plucking up the courage to talk to a girl," Maddie answered.

Troy quirked an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you're Maddie?"

She stood up and shook his hand. "And you're Troy. It's great to finally meet you."

"Likewise."

I looked up at Troy. "So, what are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you."

He rolled his eyes. "I figured we need to talk. About the other day."

"Yeah, I think we do." We both glanced at Maddie. "Why don't we go for a walk? You know, away from nosy siblings?"

Maddie sighed dramatically. "You didn't hear me complaining when you and Noah eavesdropped on my phone conversations."

I pulled a face as I grabbed my phone and pulled on a jacket. "Hardly. You complained so much that Dad grounded us for two weeks."

"I begged him to make it three."

"We're leaving. Will you still be here when we come back?"

She smirked. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

After battling through five more interrogations with Dad, Jo, Tommy, Eddie, and Riley, we finally made it outside. Troy wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side and honestly, I never felt safer. We walked down the sidewalk, avoiding kids on bikes and rollerskates who were all enjoying the Saturday sunshine. We were quiet for a while and I looked up at Troy's face, trying to figure out where I'd be, we'd be, in five, ten years time. Troy asked me about my future on our first date at the lake and I couldn't answer him. But now, I knew the answer. I didn't know if we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, but I knew I would be with him for as long as I could.

"You're rather deep in thought," he said after a while.

I nodded slowly and looked down at our shoes. We crossed the street to the park and passed the playground where Troy wrecked his knee. He gestured to a bench and we sat down. I rested my head on his shoulder, watching the kids playing on the swings and monkey bars.

"Are you going to tell me what you're thinking about?" he asked slowly, running his fingers through my hair.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He slowly took his arm from my shoulder and moved away an inch or so. "Why?"

I shrugged. "For the other night. I didn't make the best impression and I shouldn't have talked to your parents that way. If I talked that way to my parents, I'd be grounded until I graduate from law school."

"Yeah, but you were a saint compared to my folks. In fact, the reason I wanted to talk to you is because I want to apologise for their behaviour."

I suddenly burst out laughing. I couldn't help it. I was loud, too. Loud enough to draw attention from a few of the kids playing on the swings.

Troy frowned. "What's so funny?"

I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair. "It's just...before you came to my house, I was talking to Mom and Maddie about our dinner and what your parents said to me. And I was worried that you wouldn't want to be with me."

"Well, that's stupid."

"I know that now. I mean, my mom told me that having in laws who don't like you is pretty simple. And sitting here with you, I get it."

Without another word, Troy leaned forward and kissed me. It was short and simple but that didn't mean it wasn't important. He pulled back and quirked an eyebrow. "I'm proud of you."

"Why?"

"I don't have the guts to stand up to my parents like you did."

"When you have eleven siblings, you kind of learn to speak up for yourself. So you don't care if your parents disapprove?"

He shrugged. "It's not like they approve of a lot."

It was those words that got me through each day. Through all the chaos that ensued in a house with twelve children, Troy's words kept me grounded.

Which was why I was grateful to have his company when Sharpay started discussing a party. I hadn't know Sharpay long and I got along with her extremely well, especially when considering our conflicting interests. However, this wasn't going to be a movie night in her bedroom. Even though she didn't say it, it was clear this was going to be the biggest party in East High history.

"So Mommy and Daddy leave for New York late afternoon on the Friday so this gives us well over a day to organise food and decorations," she explained, writing in a notebook with a sparkly pen.

Taylor scoffed. "Us?"

"Yes," Sharpay snapped. "Us."

I glanced at Troy who was taking a lot of interest in his chilli cheese fries.

"I'm thinking the theme should be-"

"-cheerleaders in short skirts?" Chad finished with a skirt. Taylor subsequently hit him in the chest and he begrudgingly apologised.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "I was actually thinking-"

"Does it even have to have a theme?" Noah asked. "I mean, isn't it just going to be a bunch of high schoolers dancing and getting drunk?"

Sharpay slammed her notebook shut and folded her arms, glaring at each of us in turn. "Fine. The theme will be drunk, brainless, lunk head neanderthals."

Zeke rolled his eyes and pulled her closer, despite her protests. "Soothing words." When she was silent, he repeated himself.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Armani."

"Better?" he asked with a soft smile.

She elbowed him gently in the ribs and giggled when she kissed his cheek. "Well, I was thinking the theme should be young and in love."

"Boo," Chad mumbled while giving a thumbs down.

After lunch, I followed Troy to his locker and watched him organise his books.

"Honey?" I asked after a minute.

"Yeah?"

I glanced at the other students crowding the hallways, gathering at lockers and chatting before class. "Are you okay? You're quiet. You know, more than usual."

He sighed and shut his locker, turning to face me. "Are you going to Sharpay's party?"

"I was planning to. Why?"

"Do I have to go, too?" he asked while pulling a face.

"Well, you don't have to go. I mean, I'd like you to. But you don't have to."

He rolled his eyes. "Is this one of those girl things where you say I don't have to go but I really do?"

I laughed and shrugged. "No, absolutely not. It's your choice." I glanced at the passersby and leaned closer to Troy. "But if you go with me, I'll do that thing with my tongue."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Which one?"

"Whichever one you want."

He narrowed his eyes. "Already using sex as bribery?"

"Like you're going to refuse."


End file.
